We all have experience with sickness. Can you recall the last time you got sick?
For myself, a massive amount of sleep is my secret remedy for curing illnesses. What about you?
So far, I have not had any serious illnesses except for occasionally catching the flu. Knock on wood. However, a “get well soon message” from friends or family is always greatly appreciated.
A while ago, I bumped into an acquaintance, an outgoing, sweet, and healthy lady in her early forties. In the past, her beautiful appearance along with her excellent presentation skills always impressed me. Unfortunately, she suffered from a stroke last week. When I saw her again yesterday, she was struggling to get up from her wheelchair, even with her husband’s help. She lost confidence in herself and had tears in her eyes. She wanted to talk but the stroke had impaired her speech. According to her husband, her recovery will be a long and uncertain journey.
In fact, what happened to her really shocked me.
By today’s standards, people in their 40's can be classified as youngsters, especially as we live much longer than before. In Hong Kong, the life expectancy for women is 88, while it is 87 for men. When I discovered what happened to her, a few questions crossed my mind. For example, how can a physically fit young woman get a stroke all of a sudden? Will the same thing happen to me or my family soon?
Life is so unpredictable. Bad things can happen randomly to everybody. During various stages of my life, I have gone through lots of hardships too. For example, right after I got my driver’s license, I was in a couple car accidents within a month. Three months after my last car accident, a fire broke out in my new apartment, where I had only lived in for 6 months. I suffered from serious depression during that period of time, but I made it through in the end.
One of the key reasons was that a friend of mine offered me tremendous help without my asking. Those hardships made me realize that emotional support is always necessary, no matter if you are sick mentally or physically.
Inspired by these experiences, I started to care more about my surroundings. Family and friends are always at the top of my priority list. Yes, I know - talk is cheap. It is always easier said than done. Especially, in today’s world, it is so common to work long hours. Beating deadlines and stressing out are part of our everyday life. To catch up on work over the weekend is part of the routine. We don’t even have time for ourselves, let alone to look after the people around us.
Undoubtedly, we are all living in time constraints. After a long day, we are all burned out. We often postpone our dinner meetings with friends or family in exchange for some sleep. In our heads, we always think of rescheduling our next dinner meetings. However, who can predict the future?
In fact, the purpose of meeting up is to show our concern to those we care about. Even though we can’t spend time with friends or families physically, there are so many things we can do instead. For example, a quick phone call, or a text message is a great alternative.
In most cases, surprising someone you care about with a small gift is greatly appreciated. For example, you can cheer them up with a fruit basket and leave a note to remind them to eat healthily no matter how busy they are. Nutritious, colorful, and lovely-looking fruits are a refreshing gift for people of all ages. Fruit itself is already a decoration to lighten up your surroundings. By consuming them, they will fill you up and energize you all day long.
Tonight, before you hit the hay, or during your me-time, message a friend whom you have not seen for ages but still want to be in touch with.
On the other hand, for those of you who are still struggling with your tight schedules, it is a good opportunity to polish up your time management skills. Open your PC, or just take a piece of paper, write down everything you need to finish, and put a deadline next to it. Once you have your timetable ready, you will have a clear idea of how to arrange time for your family. For your next family get-together or friends’ gathering, bring them a Fruit-is-ful fruit box in person and share the delight-ful fruits with them.
Still too busy for a face-to-face meetup, no worries, you can just go ahead and place an order online. Then, a box of nutritious, premium fruits with blessings will be delivered to their door safe and sound.
I will have a day off tomorrow. Before heading to the spa, I will be making my family breakfast, which includes a citrusy hot fruit tea along with avocado toast, smoked salmon, and eggs on the side. A banana is an energy booster. So, I will add that on the side as well, with a small splash of nutty dark chocolate. Based on my experience, this breakfast will take less than 15 minutes to make. In between, I will get dressed and check my emails. With just a bit of planning or preparation of ingredients beforehand, I can just wake up at the same time as usual without sacrificing any of my sleep time.
Don’t blame yourself, if you happen to have no one on your mind at the moment. It is always a great idea to start with yourself. It can be as simple as getting yourself a glass of water with just a slice of lemon in it. The scent of lemon will fill up your space. Breathe in the natural lemon scent and take every sip of lemon water slowly. Close your eyes, and you will feel the lemon water flowing in your mouth. You slowly swallow the water down your throat. This will be a luxurious, exclusive moment that is reserved for you only. “Luxurious” is not measured in money terms. Even if we go bankrupt, or are broke, we can still have the privilege to access our “luxurious moment” mindfully and joyfully.
Why lemon water, then? Because drinking lemon water is an easy but power-ful way to start your day. Not only will it help your body to detox faster, but the refreshing scent from the lemon will also lessen your mental stress.
What happens in life is always unexpected, but we can still make choices. A small change will lead to a big leap. Starting tomorrow, greet yourself first thing every morning, and may blessings fill with you all day long without waiting.
BECAUSE we all deserve the best!!!
Love,
Fruit-is-ful
