Pay It Forward

I broke my ankle in July <read gory details here> and I have struggled through 8 weeks of surgeon ordered “absolutely no weight bearing on that leg”. The implications of that command took a bit to sink in. Another beautiful Minnesota summer laid waste. Of course, I realize there are millions of people who suffer permanent incapacity and I have no right to wallow. I at least have the hope and expectation of a full recovery. But I am not a patient patient, so lolling on the couch with my leg up is a trial. And living on one leg makes most everything you want to do difficult. The temptation to succumb to the "Black Dog" is ever present and my avoidance of it is to a large degree owed to my loving, caring, ever cheerful wife. 

As of this week, I have received permission to start putting partial weight on that damaged leg - while wearing a boot - and in a week or so I can swap the boot for an elaborate ankle brace. It's not the "lift up your pallet and walk" pronouncement I was hoping for but it did produce an audible sigh of relief. I may get my life back.

My little neighbor girl says I am "sooo lucky" to have such a fancy scooter

I have essentially been idle since mid-July - and you know what they say about idleness and workshops. More to the point, the unwritten, unspoken burden of my upbringing - duty and responsibility and all that, sends the message: idleness equates to worthlessnesses. Guilt is a well understood Lutheran thing.

So in my many available idle hours, I was thrown into a dangerous state - thinking.

How do/should you define yourself? Most people lift the banner of work or a business as giving purpose to life. I am what I do, what I own - or in retirement, what I was. Some find a cause or an all consuming hobby. Some measure their worth by their net worth. Some on travel. Some find meaning in service.

I believe, in the end it is how you lived your life. Did you make a difference in the lives of others? That is a legacy worth pursuing. I for one, have been blessed in this life and it seems a responsibility in some small way to look out those less fortunate. You don't need to save the world. Try helping your neighbor, volunteer, donate, offer a kind word, be a friend.

Be kind. Pay it forward.

Copyright ©  2024  Dave Hoplin