Happiness on Wheels

When I was graduating high-school, we each submitted quotes to the yearbook to accompany our graduation photo. We tried our best to be deep and wise, and perhaps some people even succeeded. I don't remember. I only remember one quote, which has stayed with me after all these years. "Happiness is not a matter of conditions."

That quote comes back to me almost two decades later because I have decided that right now is the time to work on happiness, and increasing my gratitude to G‑d for my life as it is today. You see, over Chanukah, I fell and broke my ankle, a fall which necessitated having surgery, and spending the next two months in a wheel chair. Yet I intuitively understood that my fall was not a random chance occurrence, but rather a necessary reality that G-d had created uniquely for me.

My fall was not a random chance occurrenceWhy? I may never know why, but I know that this is where I need to be right now, that this is currently the best situation for my advancement. Every morning as I wake up, I think about how this is exactly where G‑d wants me to be today, and if I am still here tomorrow, then this is where He wants me to be tomorrow as well.

So this is the perfect time, and perfect place to work on happiness. Because today I know that I am exactly where I need to be. I also know that hidden in my current predicament are endless hidden kindnesses, and like a kid on a treasure hunt, I am hunting them out.

Here are some examples of what I have found:

Both my apartment and my apartment building are entirely wheelchair-accessible. My hallways and doorways are wide enough to allow me access to every room in the house.

Shortly before my fall, the city built a playground literally outside the door of my apartment building. So now I can wheel my wheelchair into the elevator, and take my kids to the playground. Did the city planners know they were building this playground especially for me and my kids? Probably not. But I know. And for that I am grateful.

My knee was uninjured in the fall, and has remained fully functional, allowing me a greater flexibility and range of motion than people whose leg injuries include knee injuries as well.

We are having beautiful weather, and every day, as I wheel into the Israeli sunshine, I feel that this weather is a gift to me, such beautiful fall weather in what should be the dead of winter.

I have made friends with a physical therapist, a friendship that has proved intensely useful at this time.

I have wonderful friends and neighbors, who send meals, and even stop by to wash my dishes.

I know that I am exactly where I need to beI have beautiful children who are flourishing despite the challenges and greater independence their current situation requires.

Except for two nights in the hospital, I have been home with my children everyday, and they know that despite my limitations, I am loving them as strongly as ever.

What I have realized is that my fall itself was not a crisis, although it certainly felt like it that day in the emergency room. What would ultimately determine whether or not this would be a crisis for me and my family was our response to the fall, and our decision to respond to this new, although thankfully temporary reality, with acceptance, and a determination to cope.

Is happiness possible on wheels? I definitely would say so.