Occasionally I get grumpy when things don’t go the way I want them to.
Last week, the weather called for sunshine and clouds but instead it was overcast and rained all day. The next day, instead of clearing up, it was raining again.
As I worked out that morning in my gray garage, looking at the gray skies and thinking about the gray day I thought “Thank God I no longer live in my f**king truck.”
In June 2019, I spent 36 straight hours in my teardrop camper, freezing from the cold hard rain which turned into snow. After the second day of nonstop torrential rain, I decided to leave.
I trudged around in inches of mud and muck packing up the camper, connecting the hitch and gathering all my soaking wet gear. I loaded Snickers in the truck, set the heat in full blast to finally stop my uncontrollable shivering, put the truck in 4 wheel drive, pulled out onto the muddy dirt road and immediately slid into a ditch and got stuck.
That was my breaking point.
So the other day I was taking to a friend about living in the moment and how I deal with my occasional bouts of grumpiness.
I told him that at least a few times a week, I think to myself, “Thank god I don’t live in my f***ing truck”.
I then feel grateful for having a garage to work out in, a grocery store 5 minutes away, a real bed, a room I can stand up in, a house that shelters me from the rain, a nearby vet and so on. Usually my mood changes instantly.
He then asked me a long convoluted question about the mysteries of life, my wife’s death, my gradual rejoining of society and if I felt this was an existential spiritual experience that I underwent each time.
I laughed and said, “Nope. It’s much simpler than that. I think Thank God I don’t live in my f***king truck.” .