Taking life for granted...

I have been thinking a lot lately about how often I take my life for granted.  I saw this quote and it really made me think. Oh, and yes, I know; the quote ends with a preposition.  It bothers me, but is helping to prove a point for me. :)

 

 

 

This is by no means a new concept: that of not taking things for granted.  I have heard the phrase many times throughout my life...

 

But how often have I really thought about it?  How many times have I stopped myself from complaining about something in life that upsets me or that I don't like? 

 

As they say, this is where the rubber meets the road.  It is so easy to say "Don't take life for granted."  It is another thing completely to live without taking life for granted. 

Here is an example: my parents bought me a car last year when I graduated from college.  In my family, it's no big deal.  My parents made a ritual of buying each of us a car when we graduated from college.  That was the deal.  Maybe not a brand new Mustang, but a sensible, serviceable car.  My parents bought a 1999 Nissan Altima for me.  It had I think 87,000 miles on it...

Was I absolutely thrilled to have a vehicle of my own? And one with so few miles at that?  AND...for free?  No.  I'm being honest now.  I was glad to have a car to drive, yes.  But I was also skeptical, and annoyed because it was 15 years old. 

 

I was remembering all of this today as I was driving that very car over to the car wash.  Wow...

And then I thought about this.  How many people are out there are maybe praying to God for a car that is serviceable and decent?  Probably a lot of people. 

 

Today I woke up and thought nothing of it.  It's completely normal for me to wake up every morning.  But there is probably someone out there who is grieving because someone they love DIDN'T wake up. 

I ate yogurt for breakfast and thought nothing of it.  It's normal for me to fix myself something for breakfast...but on the flip side of that, I am certain that there is someone out there who would have loved to have a yogurt this morning, but didn't because they had none. 

Are these just silly examples? 

 

Maybe they are.  But thinking about these things really makes me try to live life more cautiously; with more precision and thoughtfulness. 

The next time my laptop freezes up (which it is prone to do), or next time my shower water suddenly goes freezing cold (which also happens sometimes) maybe I will be slower to get angry or grumble to myself.  

 

Just another random thought in the mind of Virginia.