Troubles in a bag

I have borrowed this from Niobe's blog but I want to share it because it made so much sense to me and it made me feel happy.
I had my first counselling session this morning and we talked about this story and I realised that I would not swap lives and experiences with anyone. Sometimes I can feel so much pain I just don't know where to turn, I miss Jamie so much and I can feel lost and depressed and confused but that is me, where I am now. I am dealing with my grief, I am doing well - apparently I am not insane! - but it is my life, my memories, my son. I have lost my son but I am surrounded by love and support and hope and laughter, I have to grab hold onto this. I have my memories of Jamie, they live with me every day, they are part of me and I don't want to lose them as well. I am grateful for what I have in my life - Jamie, Lucy, Alice, my fantastic husband and the army of friends who support me and get drunk with me on a regular basis.



There’s a story about a village whose inhabitants constantly and bitterly lamented the inequities of life and fate. Wearying of their complaints, the village headman told the villagers to each pack up their troubles into a sack and to hang the sack on the branches of the big tree at the edge of town. As the villagers stood looking up at the sacks hanging in neat rows, the headman told them that, while, in this world, everyone must bear some burdens, in the interests of fairness, he would allow each of the villagers a choice of troubles. The villagers circled the tree, checking the size and weight of the various sacks, loosening the ties and examining the contents. And, of course, in the end, each person took his own troubles back.