You Don’t Realize What You’ve Got Till…

by Jeffrey Mindell

Recently I was reminded of an important life lesson.  One morning, as I was reaching for a glass out of the cupboard, I noticed I couldn’t lift my shoulder beyond a certain point without pain.  It didn’t take me long to realize how many times a day I actually use my shoulder.  It’s hard to brush your teeth, lift a cup, wash your hair and change the volume on your car stereo when you can’t lift your arm.  Ever have the realization that you’ve been taking something important for granted? 

Which takes me back a few years to when we had that widespread power outage for several days.  We quickly learned gratitude for the hundred little things we didn’t appreciate just a few days earlier - like the ability to get fresh food from the grocery store or gas from a gas station.  Not to mention the magical ability to open a fridge and pull out a cold drink, or having a faucet that pours hot and cold running water on demand!

There are literally countless things to be grateful for each and every day, and unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on how you look at it – sometimes these things have to be taken from you before you realize how lucky you were to have them.  Once my shoulder was healed, I felt grateful for a few days, and then just as suddenly as my gratitude appeared, it faded.  Every once in a while I wonder to myself – where did it go?

I think the answer may be that my gratitude went the way of all my past grateful moments.  It got sucked away into an inferno of worry, chores, possible negative future scenarios and to-do lists.  In other words, away from the moment that I happen to be living in, because if I happen to be living in this very moment I would notice that my lights are on, the heat is working, I have plenty of fresh food in the fridge, comfortable socks, a computer screen full of heartfelt words, a nice mug of green tea, and decidedly little pain in my shoulder. 

Funny how that works, suddenly I feel grateful all over again.

Jeffrey Mindell is a writer, poet, cartoonist, and all around nice fellow.  He can be contacted at jmindell@gmail.com