Why we don’t notice when something is missing?

At times, the pain goes away without us even realizing it.

It’s funny how we can complain about all sorts of things. The weather, the food, our workload, our friends, our jobs, that tooth that keeps bothering us, that headache that comes when we least expect it.

And when we are feeling the stress it causes, the pain, that becomes our main focus. We want it to leave. We want it to stop being around us. We want to feel back to normal. We need to.

However one morning we wake up, we look at our watch, we’re late for that meeting. We run to the shower, put the first set of clothes we see, grab our backpack and run. We get there, barely on time. The meeting starts, and then another one and another one. We have a break, we answer some emails and then get back to another reunion. The day finishes, we go to the gym to wind-down a bit. We get back home. We sit on the sofa, we close our eyes and suddenly we realize that the pain is no longer there. And actually, it hasn’t been there during the whole day.

But… We just noticed that, after 9, perhaps 10 hours of us running on auto-pilot mode. And I wonder how is that possible? How can something that was blocking our happiness and completely messing up our mood can go unnoticed when missing?

Because if that’s the case, I can’t stop thinking about what kind of things that weren’t really so important for us in the beginning we end up not noticing when they are no longer there? Perhaps appointments, promises, friends, family, ourselves?

Today, for some the pain is gone and through this writing I make a vow. I promise to remind myself to be grateful for what I have and for what I don’t have, just yet. Completely aware that a lot of things will attempt to alter our lives but conscious that it’s up to us to decide what really does, and when we let it, I promise to keep an eye on those things from start to finish and to not let myself forget, not let myself miss the details and for the others… To keep an eye, to try to notice that look on their eyes when they don’t dare to tell me that what bothers them, when they can’t do it, before it’s too late and they don’t feel it anymore (or they are no longer around to tell me about it).

In the future, I will be there for them (for me).

I promise.