There’s nothing like being ill or having a stubbed toe to make you realize how nice it is to carry through life without those physical ailments.

Last Saturday I encountered a bit of poison oak while exploring Coyote Hill.

While adventuring I had completely unsuspectingly sat in a bush of poison oak. This was brought to my attention by a man who happened to be biking by when he hesitantly asked: “Is that poison oak?”

At that point, there wasn’t much I could do, see as I was already sitting in the now questionably looking bush, so I thought, “Well, I certainly hope not.”

About twenty-four hours later the damage had become apparent, numerous patches of burning, itching, and the generally unpleasant rash had settled in.

And from then to now, it’s only escalated.

However, experiencing poison oak is helping instill in me a perspective of gratitude.

Life is great EVEN with unpleasant physical ailments. However, I’m especially grateful for good health and how I’m able to act freely when not suffering from unpleasant rashes.