eye opener

life's journey makes life itself worth living. happiness, joy, and excitement along with sadness, pain, and suffering are some of the natural consequences of being on this journey. we are able to control some situations while with others we are are only able to control how we act. an experience i had this week was a real eye opener to me and a testimony of how i should be acting in situations i cannot control. i was walking on campus, as i always do, and i was experiencing pain in my leg. as i continued walking, the pain remained. the pain i felt was something i could not control, i could only control my attitude and how i would handle the situation. thoughts such as, "why me" or "why now" came into my mind. the pain was not excruciating; however, it did hurt enough to merit my attention. i just wanted to walk to my class without having any pain. is that too much to ask? as i continued on my way, i glanced over to the right, and what i saw caught my full attention. a girl was walking. she walked different than most people. it almost seemed as if she was just about to the point where she needed a wheelchair, but she did not have one. in my perspective, each step was taken slowly, with much care and attention. i stood there, ashamed of my prior attitude. here i was, complaining about a little pain i was having, and this girl, who was very physically handicapped, was probably making her journey to a class. i realized how ungrateful i was for what my Heavenly Father has blessed me with. i was taking for granted not only the amazing blessing of a physical body, but also the fact of experiencing the pains of life. in the situations where i can only control my attitude, i have learned that gratefulness and thankfulness to a loving Heavenly Father is the best and the most proper way to act. i am truly grateful and blessed for this eye opening experience. it has helped me become a better person, which is ultimately, what i want to become.