Thankful

I have a few favors to ask of you tonight...just bear with me and I promise I'll explain myself.

Step 1:  Stop everything else you are doing for about the next three minutes and give me your full attention.  I promise, it'll be worth it. (And if it's not, feel free to leave me a comment and tell me, I won't be offended.)  :)

Step 2: Look around you; at all of your surroundings.  Notice the color, shape and size of everything you see. (Seriously, don't just take a quick glance and keep reading.) Take your time and don't come back to Step 3 until you're ready.

Step 3:  Listen, really listen to the noises that you hear. Pay attention to even the noises that seem mundane, the things you are used to hearing every single day.  Take your time and don't come back to Step 4 until you're ready.

Step 4:  Take three or four really deep breaths.  Notice all of the smells that surround you, even the unpleasant ones.  Take your time and don't come back to Step 5 until you're ready.

Step 5:  Think about what you've eaten today.  Really stop and think about each item; was it hot or cold? salty or sweet? delicious or so-so?  Take your time and don't come back until you're ready.


I'm not going to ask you to be thankful for the things around you or the possessions that created the sights, smells and sounds that I just asked you to notice.  I'm not even going to ask you to be grateful for the food you've eaten today.  Although, don't get me wrong, we should all totally be thankful for those things as well.

But when was the last time that you were really thankful for your sense of sight? When was the last time that you were truly grateful for the ability to hear the world around you?  When was the last time that you appreciated the ability to smell a dirty garbage can because that also meant that you can smell roses blooming or cookies baking?   When was the last time that you stopped to appreciate the fact that you can taste the food you eat, even if that means sometimes we get sour milk or burnt toast?

It is so easy to take for granted those most basic, simple things in life...but in reality, how different would our lives be without those basic, simple things that we most take for granted?  We just expect to wake up each morning with the ability to see, hear, smell, taste and touch the things around us.  It's always been there, so we figure it isn't going anywhere. 

I expected to have a healthy, normal, happy pregnancy...I've mentioned before that my biggest concerns were worries about a c-section and whether or not I could breastfeed again.  It never occurred to me that something would ever be seriously wrong.  I completely took for granted the fact that our daughter would be born with everything she needed to live a long, healthy life.  Honestly, there haven't been a lot of positives to come out of the reality that she won't, but the one thing I've learned above all others?  To be thankful, to be grateful, to cherish the gifts I have been given...because nothing is a guarantee.