In the Joy and Tragedy

We live a life of joy and tragedy… at the same time.

Earlier this month, Pam and I were traveling by car to our home in Texas from Jackson, Wyoming.  It’s a long two day or shorter three-day trip. Yesterday we drove for about six hours and during that time took and made several phone calls and answered some emails and text messages.  The first text message of the morning was great news! The car I specially ordered now has a date for being built.  That was very exciting news to me.  I’ve been waiting months for it! 

Within minutes, I had a call from one of my business partners that one of our employees had been stealing from us.  It was someone we knew and loved, and we were all so sad and disappointed.  This was a very hard thing to hear and the steps we had to take were terrible.  I was mad they would do this but also sad that it was happening to them and their family because it was going to be ugly.

An hour later, Pamela and I stopped at our favorite hamburger place in Rock Springs, WY and enjoyed the best hamburgers in the world with our dog.  We got to enjoy each other, the beautiful country, our dog, and great food. It was awesome. 

That night, as we got settled into our hotel in Cheyenne, I got a call from my assistant that one of my dogs back home was injured.  My daughter’s dog. I called my son (a physician) who went down to assess.  Turns out, our dog, Milo, had been shot through the back and the bullet had exited via his neck. He couldn’t breathe.  They rushed him to the vet, but the wound was lethal, and they had to put him to sleep.  It was tragic. My daughter was heartbroken. She’d brought him back home with her for college for winter break and was just about to take him back with her the next day… 

So, was that a great day or a horrible day?  The answer, of course, is it was both and it was neither.  It’s called life.  Every day there are amazing, great things happening and every day there are horrible, terrible tragedies. Both are real, both are true. Your life is determined by the quality of what you choose to focus on.  Trust me, I’m not saying we should ignore the tragedy.  I am beside myself with grief over our dog and furious at my employee. Despite this, if I only focus on the tragedy I will miss the great things that happened on that trip as well.  The beautiful mountains, the book Pam and I listened to while driving, the great conversations, my car, the wonderful blessings we have. 

We live a life of blessings, joy, and tragedy.  We have to be emotionally intelligent enough to do both simultaneously.  To feel and process the tragedy and still be grateful and humble for the joy and blessings.  That is living.  That is Living Every Minute.

Dr. Tim

Living Every Minute