On this day in 1838 John Muir was born.
From history.com:
John Muir, a dedicated advocate for the protection of American wild lands, is born in Dunbar, Scotland.
When he was still a boy, Muir’s parents immigrated to the United States. He grew up on a farm in central Wisconsin in the 1850s, a time when the region was still a relatively wild western frontier. When he was 23, Muir left the family farm and traveled around the Midwest working in a variety of industrial jobs. A talented mechanic and inventor, he seemed to be headed for a successful career in the rapidly expanding industrial economy—but an accident changed Muir’s direction in life.
While working in an Indianapolis factory for wagon parts, Muir’s hand slipped, and a file he was using cut the cornea of his left eye. Not long after, his right eye also temporarily failed in a sympathetic reaction. Muir’s experience of being blind for several weeks led him to rethink his life plans. When he recovered his sight, he abandoned his career as a skilled mechanic and opted instead to embark on a 1,000-mile walking tour of the American West.
Without Muir, American thought about the preservation of wilderness lands would be very different. Some of us here at Think Thanks think he’s a hero – but he wouldn’t have become a historic figure if it hadn’t been for an accident that must have seemed tragic at the time.
Has there been something in your life that felt like a tragedy, or even a big disappointment, that helped change the direction of your life and now you can see that it was something for which you can feel grateful?
OR:
Are you feeling really grateful today for pancakes? Or something else?
Will you let us know about it in the comments?
I am thankful for John Muir.
I am also thankful for the accident that changed the course of my life. On New Year’s Day 2003(?) I fell down my basement stairs and effectively punched the concrete at the bottom with my left hand. Firstly, I am grateful the accident wasn’t worse. The position I landed in could have easily resulted In a broken neck. Secondly, I am grateful my now husband was there to help. It was a bit of a “come to Jesus” moment for both of us. But mostly I grateful it shook me out if a place of complacency that probably would have stuck with me for quite some time.
Being a massage therapist, the resulting broken hand (boxer’s fracture) was terrifying. Would I ever be able to massage again? Thankfully I made a great recovery and still massaging today. But it was a slow process and as I started working again I decided to start
with my “moonlighting” clients. This got me thinking. Maybe I could just work for myself and do this on my own!?
This is what happened. That accident pushed me to take a leap that I was too afraid to take on my own (ha!). I have been happily and successfully self employed ever since!
I am thankful to be on a vegan path with my family. Cancer has touched our lives in so many ways and is the catalyst for our kinder current lifestyle.
I am also super grateful for quantum physics.
I’m grateful for the at-the-time tragedy of a whilrwind freshman first semester of college in which I almost bombed out grade-wise, decided not to return to the out of state college I was attending, ditched the major I thought I wanted, and moved home for a boy. Only 2 month later, the boy and I were no more.
At the time those few months seemed like the worst possible situation for a Type-A person like me. In hindsight, it has taught me SO much. It’s ok to go off course. Sometimes those moments are exactly what you need to get on the truly right course.
It is very difficult to admit gratitude for the tragic losses in my life. I recognize that I have benefited from the intimacy of end-of-life care for the people I love. I feel privileged to share tenderness and love at this moment. I am very grateful for Steven Levine’s book, Who Dies?: An Investigation of Conscious Living and Conscious Dying. The meditations are priceless.
I’m grateful for the multipul funerals that caused me to meet my Great-Aunt and her dog. She is awesome, even though the sad times that came to happen caused it.
Me to meet her.
I’m thankful for the great care my husband got when he got a metal shard in his eye a few years ago, and that it turned into an amusing cautionary tale instead of a tragic life changing event.
I’m thankful for the time I got to spend with my Grammy, my dad, and his sister as Grammy slowly died. It was a special time that helped me “grow up”.
I was in a car accident when I was in my early 20′s, and it was tragic, but it absolutely gave me a sense that I am not in control of anything but myself, and even my self-control is largely illusory. I am grateful that I feel this deep in my bones and that it has changed my life’s course so that I ended up where I am now.