I was surprised when I heard a surgeon talking about her work. She said she wouldn’t want to change the fact that people need serious operations. Her point was that having to deal with our mortality can cause us to ‘rethink’ our life and values. I agree, but I think it’s sad to wait for a life threatening moment before reflecting on how amazing life is.
I think this reflects a serious issue in our culture. A lot of us take things for granted so much that we never question how incredible our situation is! In the west we live a life only attained by kings and queens just a few centuries ago!
By cultivating gratitude we can become more aware of how lucky we are, get perspective, and take renewed pleasure in the essential things like running water, food, friends and sun.
You don’t have to wait till you lose your mobility, vision, family or friends to appreciate them fully now!