While I was puking my guts out Monday night into Tuesday morning, I took a moment to Google some tips on relief. The first several links were – sadly – all about how to deal with cancer and chemotherapy. It gave me a serious wake-up call in the midst of my self-pity… I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, and again, and again… I am SO thankful for a healthy body.

I’ve always wished and prayed for health and happiness – for myself, for my loved ones, for everyone! I think those are the two most important things. But in that moment (I’m sure exaggerated by the situation in which I found myself), I decided that if I had to choose one, it would be health. Not that happy people are always healthy, or unhealthy people always unhappy, but happiness is so much more difficult to achieve if your body (and mind) won’t cooperate. All I could think about were the cancer patients reading the same links I was reading. All I could think about was my mother, homeless on that freezing cold night. I had it damn good, curled up in the loving embrace of my porcelain potty.

Freedom from disease of the body and of the mind is a beautiful thing. It’s so much more difficult to pursue happiness if you don’t have that. I hope I never take my freedom for granted.