Living the OOF Life
The OOF life.
According to my grandson, that’s what you get after you’ve been slammed around a bit by life. It’s in direct opposition to the YAY life which is when things are all going well.
In Physics we learned that for every action (BAM) there is an equal and opposite reaction (OOF).
We all get slammed by life sometimes. If you’re alive, it’s a given.
But there is an art to living the OOF life that I have discovered by watching my grandson.
He broke his arm a couple weeks ago (OOF!). He didn’t know until the next day that it was broken. He had to go to Atlanta to get it set and casted because it was a bit more complicated than his doctor was comfortable with.
Things are difficult for him, as you can imagine. He could legitimately be getting out of all sorts of things, but he chooses not to.
He is still going to Band class and finding ways to sort of play his clarinet.
He still shows up for after school wrestling practice (where he broke his arm in the first place) even though he can’t physically participate. He watches the other kids wrestle and the new moves they’re learning.
He could be at home watching TV and eating a snack and feeling sorry for himself.
But he’s not.
Even though he can’t fully participate in these activities, he’s still putting in the 100% that he has right now learning and doing what he can, supporting the efforts of his teammates. Trying to improve. Not giving up.
An admirable quality in anyone, let alone an eleven-year-old boy.
So even though I have recently felt the OOF several times, I’m trying to learn the lesson my grandson is so eloquently living.
Be who you are.
Love what you do.
Do what you can.
Don’t give up.
Be thankful for what you have.
Do the right thing.
Find the joy in everything.
Smile a lot.
Enjoy the journey.
Don’t let the OOFs get you down.
Let living the OOF life strengthen your commitment to the things you want to accomplish.
When the OOFs come to knock you down, just roll with it.
Then, keep on rolling forward.
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This is one of my favorites 🙂
Your grandson must be oof super hero. I bet he has two great females standing behind him
Indeed he does!
I’d like to tell you about something that happened yesterday.
It was chilly and raining and I was shopping at my favorite place, Goodwill. A disheveled man wearing a large plastic bag over his clothes and pushing his bicycle approached me with a bright smile on his face. “Excuse me ma’am, could you possibly buy these shoes and this cap for me?”
The man had a prosthetic leg from the knee down. On his other foot was a surgical boot. He explained he had recently had half of his foot removed and he needed to keep it dry. As we walked up to the counter he made a joke about how he hoped the shoe fit, and he chuckled. I was humbled at how he remained so jovial about his situation.
You see, I live with my mother-in-law keeping her company and helping her out with things that are getting too difficult for her to do. I babysit a few hours each week, so I don’t have a lot of spending money. And, with a few other things in my life lately, I’ve been feeling a bit miserable lately.
After I paid for our stuff I gave him his bag and handed him an extra $5. He smiled so big when he thanked me that I could feel the gratitude just radiating from him.
Like I said, I was humbled. I had been feeling sorry for myself, and here is this man who had WAY less than I did, smiling and cracking jokes about his misfortune. Honestly, I think he did more for me by asking for my help than I did for him in helping. My cup runneth over!
Amazing! It’s kind of like “I felt sorry for myself because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.” What a blessing for you both!
I am so glad your sister Lou posted about your blog. Looking forward to reading more. Real and heartfelt stories lift me up. Thank you!
Thanks Marty. I’m looking forward to your company on this journey we call life! Welcome!
Thank you, Carol, for this precious heartwarming story and optimistic, very applicable philosophy. I’m just now learning how to successfully live in the moment filled with Jesus’ peace while coping with the daily OOFs of life. When I’m peacefully living in the moment despite being buffeted by OOFs, my life is YAY!
Lisa, that’s awesome. Kudos to you for figuring out how to have a YAY life with a few somewhat inconvenient OOFs rather than an OOF life punctuated by an occasional YAY! Some people live their whole lives never knowing that peace.
Carol, I just love this one. The OOF’s in life can be many. But yes they make knock us but it is how you get up and push through. The OOF’s definitely make us stronger. Awesome writing. Thank you.
Thanks Susan…and you’re welcome! The more offier the OOFs, the yayer the YAYs!