Knowledge pulls, pain pushes

I love the expression, knowledge pulls and pain pushes. It seems we all have elements in our lives that we display great resistance towards. Its that resistance that creates the pain that pushes. It appears to be a part of the human experience. It creates a great deal of unhappiness and suffering. It creates wars. Sometimes, its what moves us from that dark night of the sole to the light of recognition that a change of mind and attitude can transform resistance into acceptance and result in a greater since of harmony and well being.
My wife and I cared for her parents in our home until each of them transitioned. Heidis Father past first and her Mother died about 3 1/2 years later. When they first came to stay with us, a period when they were still in relatively good health, I was terribly resistant to the idea. I struggled over the added expense and the intrusion into the privacy and intimacy of our lives. It was a period of time for me of considerable internal suffering and conflict. However, it was something my wife found it absolutely necessary to do and I respected the intent of that a great deal. This is when I realized that when you change the way you think about something, everything about it changes. It changes your life. I decided to consider their being with us as a gift to them and to my wife. I refused to observe a feeling of loss in any way.
Having them included in our home and lives until their passing became one of the great blessings of our lives. It is partially through their generosity that we were able to acquire the trailer we now live and travel in and the truck we pull the trailer with. They were great travelers and adventurers in their own right and I often feel their presence when we are traveling through some place I know they would enjoy. We bought our truck used and the last three numbers on the license plate are EVF. My Mother in laws maiden name was Evelyn Virginia Foster. EVF.....Go figure..