Don’t Take for Granted

The sunrise in the morning.

The ability to walk.

The ability to feed yourself.

The first chilly morning of the year.

The sound of the birds chirping.

Waking up for a new day.

There are so many little things and much bigger parts of life, we take for granted on a daily basis. We are not owed anything by life, yet we accept what we receive as if it were a right we were guaranteed. Anything can happen at any moment. In any instant, our life could change. For the better or for the worse. For our benefit or for our detriment. Either way, with either outcome, we must always center ourselves and realize where we came from and what our situation is.

There are countless stories about people visiting terminally ill patients and walking away in awe with how happy they are. Coach Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics visited with three girls under the age of 21 with terminal cancer when his team was down 3 games to 0 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Coach Mazzulla assumed he would be helping the girls by speaking with them. He went on to say, “They were helping me,” they were dying and just “smiling and enjoying life.” People on the brink of losing it all, their place on Earth, are able to find joy and happiness to keep them going. People in these situations are forced to not take anything for granted because their next breath is not promised, let alone next week.

In everyday life, we have so many moments we put on autopilot and just move through. Our morning routine, our drive to work, the errands we run on the weekend, things we just do. In life, there are also moments we get annoyed with or dread. Doing chores, cooking dinner after a hard day, working out when we want to do nothing else but take a nap. In any of these instances, it is important to ground ourselves in what we are fortunate to have. We are fortunate to have life. We are fortunate to have bodies capable of performing these tasks. We are fortunate to be able to do. So many others would instantly switch spots with us, regardless of how tired or full of despair we may feel. Someone always has it worse than we do.

Could our life be better? Sure it could. Could it be worse? Absolutely. What we have should not be taken for granted. Everything could be changed in any instance. Ground yourself each day and appreciate the things you do have in your life. Find the little joys and find peace in the things you do not like, know you are still lucky. Know you are still fortunate. Know you have not taken life for granted.