Don't Count Your Threes

I’ve heard that trouble or problems come in threes.  This is an old and superstitious position and it seems that we gravitate towards it when we have a problem; sort of ‘woe is me, I don’t just have one problem, I have three!!!’  We may have something legitimate going on and then we just lump a couple of other things on top of it to ensure we have our ‘three.’  I’ve seen my friends do this, ‘I have to have toe surgery and today I found out that my kitchen sink has a leak AND I’ve also gained 5 pounds!’  And I know many times I’ve said, ‘yes, you’re right, it usually goes like that, you don’t get one problem, you get several.’ 

But that’s life.  That’s reality.  This world is not perfect; life is not perfect, just as we are not perfect.  Life is not clean or tidy or without its problems.  And I find that sometimes you don’t just get three, you get four or five or more problems at a time. Life is only picture-perfect in movies and magazine covers.  I usually tell my kids ‘Hollywood is not real life!’  And sometimes I say it very loudly.  The beautiful homes with the beautiful people with beautiful perfectly behaved children with impeccable decorator touches and precise organization and they are all hugging and looking happy is not real!!!!  Let’s not even talk about digging up what’s underneath all that; puhleeze! 

So, let’s not count our threes.  Let’s count the fours, fives, sixes, nines.  Let’s count the dozens.  Let’s count the hundreds.  Let’s count all the blessings, all the great things we enjoy every day.  Let’s count that we are all in the land of the living.  Let’s count our freedom.  Let’s count that we have families and friends.  Let’s count jobs and school and homes.  Let’s count a pet that loves us unconditionally.  Let’s count a great meal with a colleague.  Let’s count learning a new sport.  Let’s count a challenge that stretches our thinking.  Let’s count the help we can give someone.  Let’s count the many, many blessings and joys we have every single day.