“When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.” G. K. Chesterton
We all take things for granted; both basic and simple things. Its normal, isn't it? You live in a routine, for the most part, and the more routine, the more dependable the thing is – hence, the more you stop noticing it. For instance, you don't really notice each time you take a breath, do you?
Do we take too much for granted? It’s a question I have asked myself a lot these days… I think that many of us should comprehensively think about this. I personally realized that we take a lot of things for granted, and we no longer appreciate the simple things in our lives that give us pleasure, joy and happiness. We rarely appreciate that we have more than enough, failing to see that other people have much, much less, and instead we spend days on end in search of that elusive something. Being grateful for what we have is an ability that many of us have neglected amid the radical pace of life’s demands and aspiration. Think about it; we all have our own set of dreams and goals in life, and we work our tails off and make incredible sacrifices to put ourselves in position - just to give ourselves a chance to attain our dream...
The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that we are obliged to appreciate more; love, friendship, kids, parents, health - everything that make us blissful, living and surviving.
"You never know what you have until you lose it, and once you lose it, you can never get it back."
Life is not about going through the motions. It’s not about becoming a robot. Life is what you make it. Though the time we’re given on this earth is unknown, it’s important that we enjoy our lives. I am not saying that we should disregard the sad aspects of life or pretend we don’t have any pressures or stresses laid upon us, because they are essential too and if we deny them, we will be living in an illusion. However I am sure we can all find a few minutes every day to value what we have and appreciate the fact that we are alive and surrounded with scores of great things.
Am I talking about perfection? No I am not; we all carry around our imperfections and flaws, but at the same time we all strive to make ourselves and our existence better, thus appreciating the many good things we have in life will give us more peace of mind and positive thoughts to work more towards improving ourselves and improving all the imperfection we see in our daily life, basically what I mean is that, life shouldn’t just be one big struggle.
So take the initiative now, and focus on a positive attitude. Appreciate life with all its joy and sorrow - before it is too late. So be serious, but don’t take life too, too seriously. Because in the long run, will anyone remember 100 years from today, the stuff that you’re panicking over now?
I’d say no, probably not…!!!
“Make it a habit to tell people thank you; to express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you'll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you'll find that you have more of it. Ralph Marston ”