Time to say thank you for our good fortune

This column appears today in the Irish regional INM newspapers.

By Michael Commane

I work three days a week in Dublin and two in Kerry. It means I travel every Monday evening after work from Kerry to Dublin by rail and then back down again on Thursday evening after work. I have been doing it for six years. It is something I simply take for granted. After work in Dublin on Thursday I cycle three kilometres to Heuston Station to catch my train and then late on Monday night, arrive back at Heuston and cycle eight kilometres across the city.

There is something about the human makeup that allows us get accustomed to anything. And jumping on and off trains and bicycles is simply part of my weekly staple.

Two weeks ago I was banjaxed - a chest infection and I was laid low. Just the thought of getting to the station and then spending four hours on a train was nothing other than a nightmare and in the end I gave in and took to the bed.

I'm back in action again but the week or so off work, spending most of the time in bed, gave me plenty of time to think about all sorts of things.

Of course I'll break the promise but right now I am intent on appreciating my good health and the next time I jump on to a train and then later, on to my bicycle, I am going to stop for a second and thank God for my extraordinary good health.

Oh, yes, every time we are knocked out with any sort of illness we make all sorts of solemn promises to appreciate our good health.

No, none of us is going to be running about constantly shouting Alleluia at the top of our voices, thanking God for our good health. Nevertheless, it would do us all good to stop in our step from time to time and appreciate the gifts that we have.

And just at this time of year with life jumping up at us we really would want to be out of our minds not to be able to smile at how fantastic the world around us actually is.

These days the hedgerows in Kerry are alive with primroses and all sorts of flowers, whose names I donâ't know. And then cycling to and from work these days in Dublin there really is an excitement in the air. Every bud in every garden is edging out and then with the clock gone forward it means cycling home in daylight.

This time of the year means there is everything to look forward to - five to six months of life and growth even if we do have our fair share of rain.

Later this month I'll be 62 and suddenly it dawns on me how lucky I am to be able to get up on my bicycle with such ease.

What about people who are in constant pain and unable to get out and about? People who are blind and cannot see the primroses. And yet there is something in the human spirit that allows people to cope whatever their plight.

I can't imagine how I would react if I became disabled or lost a limb.

A man I know, and we are not the best of friends, indeed we have had our disagreements, was in a road accident some years back, which led to the amputation of his leg. Is it okay to say I simply don't like the man yet I have been so impressed with how he has dealt with his accident and subsequent disability. Okay, he is in a privileged position to be able to avail of the best treatment in the land, nevertheless, he has got on with it and is getting on with his life. I take off my hat to him and keep saying to myself, I doubt if I could do it.

Watching people being shot and wounded these days in Libya and what seems poor medical services available to them, makes me shudder and yet somehow or other they manage and get up again.

Anyone who has spent some time in a developing country and seen first-hand the terrible plight of the poor are always greatly impressed with the kindness and spirit of the people.

So on the one hand it seems that we with our health and our wealth need to be far more grateful for the gift of nature all around us. And yet people who are far less privileged have some sort of ability of accepting their lot and getting on with it.

I am constantly asking myself what is life all about. And just as I write these words I am forced to say to myself that one of the great gifts of the human spirit is the ability to be grateful for what we have.

Yes, to try to say a single word to people who are in pain and suffering is tantamount to being patronising. But all I can say is that in my experiences, every time I meet someone who is experiencing some great disability or suffering, I am always gob-smacked with how positive and upbeat they are.

I also know I should be given a great shaking to be put in my place and realise how extraordinarily lucky I am to be able to walk, cycle, climb mountains – anything I want to do.

I also know I deserve to cop on to myself and stop moaning about silly little things that are so unimportant and incidental to my life.

Get on with it and just shut up and be grateful for the extraordinary gifts and blessings that have come your way.