Yesterday I got my first COVID vaccine shot. It's the first shot I've received in a couple of decades. Shots scare me - for the lack of a better word. I once passed out waiting to be seen for a routine physical because I thought I MIGHT have to get a shot.
Early last year, I was in excruciating back pain. The Physician's Assistant said she could give me a shot and the pain would be better over night. I said, "don't you have a pill?" She said, "the pill could take days to work." I said, "give me the pill." But there was something different about yesterday's shot. All weekend long, and certainly yesterday morning, I had friends reaching out not only assuring me the shot wouldn't kill me, but that getting the shot was contributing to something good. From the moment I pulled into the clinic, where dozens of volunteers in bright yellow road vests were directing traffic - guiding people to parking spots according to their appointment times - I knew I was a part of something much bigger than a shot. Inside the clinic, a system was in place that kept people moving peacefully and efficiently. It was a machine. Chick-Fil-A would have been envious. This was all thanks to hundreds of volunteers directing the system. And the people being directed - well, they all seemed to know they were in it together for some common good. I got so caught up in the system, and that common good of it all, that I never had much time, really, to start thinking about how awful that shot was going to be. The next thing I knew I was staring at a nurse, dumbfounded; she'd just told me the hard part was over. I could move to the next station. As I staggered away, a bit dazed, I continued to stare back at her, wondering maybe if I'd just been pranked. I'd just received a shot and didn't feel a thing. How was that possible? Our minds, that's how it's possible. Our minds are incredibly powerful. So many of our struggles in life come from anticipating doom and not good. That shot yesterday was a much needed and tangible reminder - life is going to go in a better direction when we get nervous for how good things can be. I'm going through life changes. Many days there are nerves that come with them. This morning, thinking about it, most of those nerves come with not knowing - not knowing what is on the other side of the nerves. If I'm not careful, I let my mind take over and start filling in those blanks with disaster. That's just how our mind works when we let it lead the way. It's a fill in the blanks with disaster sort of element. But yesterday, thanks to friends and volunteers, I had help telling my mind how it was going to see this whole vaccine deal. Oh, this is for the good, Mr. Mind. You don't get to take over in this one. There will be NO picture of gloom and doom from you today. Yesterday didn't go better than previous shot experiences because the shot didn't hurt. It went better because I expected it was going to be good. Life isn't always about eliminating the pain and the struggle. But it's always about anticipating what is going to come on the other side. We can hand over that anticipation to a mind that will almost always anticipate bad. Or, we can say no, not today. Today I will anticipate how good things can be on the other side.
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Robert "Keith" CartwrightI am a friend of God, a dad, a runner who never wins, but is always searching for beauty in the race. Archives
February 2025
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