Daily Inspiration 8-12-17

"Can you see the holiness
in those things you take for granted--

a paved road or a washing machine?
If you concentrate on finding
what is 'good' in every situation,
you will discover that your life
will suddenly be filled with gratitude,

a feeling that nurtures the soul."

-- Rabbi Harold Kushner

  

[Classic post from 2-19-12. As of today, 8-12-17, nothing on this list has changed]

I've become such a grateful person in the last five years or so and I never stop finding things that I can be grateful for instead of taking them for granted.

Trash day at my house is Tuesday morning. I am incredibly grateful for trash being pickup up at my house and they even supply the containers to put it in. What an amazing service. When I get the bill each month that is so stupid cheap for such a wonderful service, I just want to give them a huge tip! What a bargain and what a convenience. Think about what it might be like without that service.

• I flip the light switch and the light lights the room.
• I turn on the TV and can watch any one of a slew of channels of entertainment, movies, and variety.
• My computer is not only a miracle and I can watch movies on it too, but it has afforded me the luxury of working from home since 1997.
• My Polk Audio 10 speakers. I bought them in 1983 and they are still as good as then with sub-woofers and all before sub-woofers were even popular.
• Recorded music. My how I love music and I can play thousands of hours worth any time I want--even some of my own songs recorded long ago.
• Books. I love books and learning. So many interesting people whom I get to know a little bit about through books along with a vast array of other subjects.
• I turn the faucet and clean drinkable water comes right out of the spout. I have faucets in several rooms and several outside too. What an amazing thing.
• I love toast and I love my toaster and it works perfectly every time.
• My microwave oven is so fast and easy and I can reheat a cup of coffee or cook a whole meal if I want. What an amazing device right there in the kitchen. They were only invented about 45 years ago.
• Speaking of the kitchen. I open that refrigerator door many times during the day and my food is kept safe and long by the refrigeration. What an invention and it was only invented in the last century.
• Flat screen monitors for computers and television. Remember those big old boxes?
• Concrete. I don't have a dirt driveway or walkways but made of concrete.
• Street lights. Trash cans. Cardboard boxes. Kleenex. Paper towels. Toilet paper.

I should stop for now, but you can see what a long list it is already and I've only just begun. Gratitude is a practice and there is no better place to practice than the commonplace things that we have come to know so well that we no longer think about them unless they are broken. With that practice, who knows what you could be grateful for!

  

Get Your List Going And You'll See What I Mean.

Spread Some Joy Today--Once you begin with gratitude, you may find that you can choose to be grateful for things that used to drive you crazy. That's a life-changing thing.