The Bus Ride That Reminded Me What I Should Be Grateful for Despite Health Challenges

It was a normal Monday afternoon, a normal setting sat on the bus surrounded by people going about their daily routine. I had Steps blaring in my earphones, shopping bags between my feet and my arthritis badge pinned to my jumper.

As I casually looked around the bus something sparked a light of hope and clarity in me. A young girl was sitting at the bottom of the bus with her headphones in talking to someone on the phone and just for that split second that I glanced over, she was smiling at something I was oblivious to. A bit further up the bus, an elderly lady saw some children playing as we drove past and she smiled almost nostalgically at their happiness.

Suddenly it dawned on me about the little moments of happiness that life captures. Whether it be something that someone says, a compliment or a few words of comfort maybe, it could be memories you see replicated in the actions of others, maybe a song on the radio. Anything that makes you smile just for that one second.

As more treatments and appointments creep up, I realize it’s these moments of happiness that we live for, not injections or tablets but those sheer moments where just for a split second everything is calm and peaceful. We were all on this bus together, roughly 15 of us who have never met or spoken, all dealing with battles yet sharing small moments of happiness that the rest of the world is oblivious to.

It reminded me to be grateful for those moments, those seconds where the world feels good and life is treating you kind, ignoring the rest of the challenges the world is throwing at you in the hours to come. Those moments created by others we keep closest to our hearts or memories buried and kept safe in our souls. I was happy on that bus journey, seeing these moments bring peace to people around me and to understand what makes them feel content with the world.

No matter how hard things get remember how simple life is at times too, and those minuscule moments that express the truest form of peace and joy.