My new perspective will be to keep everything in perspective

I've been sick, more or less, for nearly 3 months now. That's a long time to be sick, especially for someone who's not really used to being sick. My therapist (yes, I go to a therapist sometimes. I'm neither proud nor ashamed of it. It's just helpful sometimes, like when you've been sick for a long time) says that having to partially shut down the way I have can give me a new perspective on life. It reminds me of something I read in a baseball magazine when I was a kid. It said something like, "Hank Aguirre arrived at spring training and announced that he was starting the year with a new attitude, setting a new major league record for consecutive years, new attitude by right-handed pitcher. Aguirre said his attitude this year would be surly."

So what is the new perspective that I've gained? The usual stuff- appreciate what you have, live each day to the fullest, blah, blah blah. The thing is, I've been through a lot of crap in the last few years, and the last thing I really needed was some catastrophic event to remind me of how lucky I am. Keeping things in perspective and being thankful for what I have are kind of obsessions for me. So the best I can hope for is to be reminded of things.

Given that reduced goal, and setting aside trivial like the fact that I hate being a passenger in a car, I can come up with 2 things. First of all, slowing down is a good thing. Being really busy doesn't make you a better person- it just makes you busy. Even if you're "productive." So what? The other thing is, and I have to credit my daughter for reminding me of this, all the best stuff happens when you get outside of your comfort zone. The best thing you can say about a comfort zone is that it's comfortable. That's admirable for a couch or a pair of shoes, but it's not much of life goal. It's in unfamiliar circumstances that you feel most alive. I think that's why I like traveling so much, even to places that aren't considered exciting. As Bill Murray says in Groundhog Day, anything new is good. And my illness, by limiting my possible activities, has cut almost every shred of novelty out of my life.

I guess that's not the worst thing someone could come up with. We'll have to see if it sticks once
I'm better or if I just forget it and go back to whatever it is I used to do.