I have been blessed with parents who taught me how to be happy with who I am. I hope I have passed that onto my sons.
In my work over the years I came into to contact with a lot of unhappy people. People who constantly searched for mountain top experiences when they lived in the valley. Never happy with who they are or what they had. A lot of wasted lives.
Now at age 60, I am forceablly retired do to poor health. I am tethered to an oxygen generator 24 hours a day. I also have diabetes and it's many complications. I am in constant pain. One question I'm often asked is how you can smile when you hurt and have so much wrong. The answer is always the same: " I can't change what is and I don't want anyone to remember me as a miserable old coot. Especially my granddaughter. She is only four but she knows how to change my empty portable oxygen tanks. She helps me when we go shopping. I'm the grandma who takes her to the zoo to see tigers; who buys her a wading pool; who sings silly songs to her and reads her favorite books. We have fun together and I wouldn't miss this for anything. It is good to just be alive!"
I pray that anyone who reads this can feel the same. It is okay to be just you.