By Pattie Mihalik

newsgirl@comcast.net

“Testing, testing, testing.”

Most of us have been at a show or event where someone tested the sound system by saying, “Testing, testing.”

As I write this, I feel like I’m the one being tested. What’s being tested is my professed strong sense of gratitude.

I have long made gratitude an integral part of my life.

I start each day with what I call my Gratitude Walk. Regardless of weather, the first thing I do is to take a solitary walk where I say thank you for the day, thank you for life, thank you for the beauty around me, thank you for all of nature’s elements. Thank you for those I will meet this day. Thank you for every blessing big and small.

And I have learned to see a blessing in most things.

Or, so I thought.

What I learned these past few days is how hard it is to see the blessing in pain or in physical problems.

Friday, I went to exercise class where I had the extraordinary experience of easily doing all the moves without a problem. The week before I was getting out of breath with the same aerobic exercises. This time I felt like I was flying.

So of course I said thank you for the great experience. Since it went so well, I began to plan in my head taking the harder Zumba class, thinking I was finally on my way to regaining my physical fitness.

Following the class I went for a nature walk with my friend Jeanne. Wasn’t tired at all.

But that night I could no longer walk without excruciating pain behind my knee. I was startled to see a hard lump the size of a tennis ball behind my knee.

Even after extensive icing, the pain was nonstop, too sharp to let me get any sleep.

There is no such thing in our area as getting a doctor on a weekend, so I consulted Dr. Google.

After my consultation with Dr. Google I think I have a greatly enlarged, painful Baker’s cyst caused by too many jumping jacks and leg extensions.

The home treatment while I wait to see a doctor: Ice, rest and elevation.

What bothers me most is the resting part. No walking, no activity to see if that helps.

The next day, when I couldn’t do my gratitude walk, I also struggled with my attitude. I found myself feeling a bit testy and out of sorts.

Whatever happened to the woman who is grateful for everything?

I have long admired Joni Eareckson Tada. Although she is completely paralyzed, she continues to remind all of us of the need to be grateful every single day, in every single circumstance.

One thing she once said that I have long remembered is that when your world shrinks, you can actually see more than you ever did in the immediate world around you.

With that in mind, I’m rebuilding my sense of gratitude by concentrating on seeing more of the small pleasures that come my way. Most of the time we are far too busy or preoccupied to zero in on all of these small pleasures.

So, here’s my list of small pleasures that bring me comfort and joy.

First and foremost, I have to list my warm blanket. In the cold spell that keeps popping up even here in sunny Florida, when I snuggled at night with my warm blanket I always feel gratitude. It is a comfort that never fails to please me.

I do have to admit there are many nights when I am troubled that there are too many homeless people out there who could use more warm blankets.

I am thankful for my friend Bonnie Sue who makes it her mission to visit homeless camps each week with donated blankets and warm jackets.

I notice that so many of the small pleasures in my life fall under the category of food.

First thing in the morning when I spread peanut butter on a toasted English muffin, I love the way the peanut butter melts slightly.

When paired with half a grapefruit, it definitely is a small pleasure I relish.

The smell of freshly brewed coffee is also an early morning pleasure, as is that first sip of morning coffee.

Here are other small pleasures that greet me each day, even when I can’t do my gratitude walk:

The way the morning sun turns the pond in back of my house into a sparkling sea of jewels.

I scan the water looking for ducks or shore birds and am seldom disappointed. I so enjoy the flock of ibis that peck for grub in my yard. And no matter how many times I see a great blue heron, it’s always another pleasure for which I give thanks.

Very high on my list of small pleasures is the sound of a tiny bird that sits each morning on a bare branch while it sings its sweet serenade.

You know, Joni Eareckson Tada is right. The more you look around your own immediate surroundings, the more you can appreciate what is before you.

After I concentrated on those small pleasures for a while, my sense of gratitude was back.

It gave me the attitude adjustment I needed.

Think about the small pleasures in your own life. It can lift your spirits, too.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.