Be Present to Receive

We have been watching the HBO show, Winning Time- the Rise of the Lakers Dynasty 
Last night there was a scene about, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
He had been in a bit of a slump in his career and with the fans
His house burns down and he loses a very rare and extensive jazz album collection 
He shows up to play at the Colosseum, frustrated and sad
There’s a group of people waiting for him and he tells his agent he doesn’t want to sign autographs or greet the fans
Then he sees a child holding out an album
And he stops
The child says it’s his dad’s favorite and then as he looks around and everybody in the crowd has an album for him
I just kept thinking how many things are meant for us
That the people in your life have to give
The gifts they hold for us, we will never see
Because we are so caught up in our struggles and frustrations
What do we think we are doing here?
This chapter of life has been super challenging for me
I am still becoming and learning who I am meant to be
And these lessons have been very hard
But, it’s all part of life's curriculum 
I know all of you are struggling too, with something
It's just how life goes
But, take it from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 
You can be frustrated by life and be sad and still get the gifts that life has for you 
You just need to slow down
Look around 
And be present to receive them