Being in the children’s hospital on Friday reminded me of something I’ve been thinking for several days now, trying to put all this in perspective. Everyone’s got something to deal with. Right now among friends and family are people coping with cancer, diabetes, divorce, degenerative diseases, epilepsy, miscarriage, birth defects, sleep disorders, joint replacements, infertility, various undiagnosed childhood challenges, and probably countless other struggles I know nothing about.

I was blessed with a lovely and stable childhood from which I emerged relatively unscathed. It wasn’t until college that I faced meaningful defeats and witnessed plans going terribly awry. As an adult, and really mostly in the past five years, have I understood a little more about the universal state of suffering that the Buddha described. Still, I know I am incredibly lucky. I am healthy. I have a close, loving family and warm, wide, supportive concentric circles of friends. I have a thriving, fulfilling business. Although sometimes we feel poor we have more wealth than most people on Earth. I have a kind, empathetic husband and we are raising a phenomenal little girl. But we, like everyone, have our stuff to deal with. And so it goes.