Just One!

"Pride makes us artificial; humility makes us real." -Thomas Merton

When I was little, my grandma would always spoil us. Granted, she still spoils us to this day even though she can barely move and can not speak. But she lives in Canada, so whenever we would go visit, we would get to stay in a hotel. As a little girl, I was incredibly fascinated with the ice machines. Each hotel room came with an ice bucket that you would usually fill for drinks or food. But I loved running to each ice machine on each floor of the hotel. I would run with my little toes and feet stomping on the ground while my grandma trailed behind. Once we got the ice bucket filled, we would go back to the hotel room and I would shove as many as I could into my mouth. I loved eating them and breaking them up into tiny pieces. Eventually, my mouth would get too cold or I had too many in my mouth and I would spit them all out. From then on, my grandma would hold up one finger with a stern look on her face and say, "Just one Jessi. Just one!"

If you had "just one" more time to do something. Or "just one" more time to tell someone you love them. Just one more time to do something right, what would you do? Who would you tell? Choosing one is a lot harder to think of. There are so many things we do and say that we wish we could take back, or do over again. Our decisions and our actions make us who we are. But in reality, are we all just one person? Don't we all want the same things in life? Love, happiness, joy, peace, wisdom? Why can't we have all of those things? Why does their have to be pain, suffering, disrespect, and heartbreak? This is a question that I believe will never truly be answered. Although, I'll share my insight with you. I believe that without all those horrible things, how would we ever learn to appreciate the good things? If all we ever saw or had was perfection, wouldn't we all be ungrateful? Wouldn't we all think life is stale and boring? With no difficulties, there would be no growing. With no heartbreak there would be no love. With no death or loss, people wouldn't appreciate life as much. So in a way, must we also appreciate the worst parts in life? Because in the end, everything happens for a reason right? So I think we should all use our "just one" chance, everyday. Use everyday as your "just one" opportunity. Just one time to smile. Just one time to laugh. Just one time to love. Just one time to be with those who matter the most. Just one life to live.