Given to Me

So much has been given to me--I have no time to ponder over that which has been denied." -Helen Keller

Most of us don't have nearly as much denied to us as Helen Keller did. We just take our ability to see for granted, and don't even think about what a wondrous gift that really is. We expect our minds and bodies to function well and don't have any idea of what a miracle that really is. We don't know how lucky we are until we live with someone whose mind and/or body is handicapped. There is so much in our lives that we just take for granted because we expect it to be that way, either because it's always been that way for us or because it appears to be that way for everyone around us.

Most of us are not satisfied with what we have. We dwell on problems, wondering how we can fix them. We dwell on what could be better, wondering how to make it so. We dwell on what we don't have that other people do. "If I could only have this, my life would be so much better". All of this takes us away from appreciating those things that we already do have. All of us, without exception, have a great deal to be thankful for, if we will just focus on finding it. We would probably feel much better even if we would just direct our comparisons to those who don't have what we have instead of those who seem to have more, and realize just how lucky we are.

There is no time for us to ponder what we don't have. There is a world full of riches that each of us has to explore and enjoy right now, just where we are. "It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got". The more we appreciate what we have right now, the more that will be given to us. You only have so much time on earth; spend it enjoying what is already here for you to enjoy. Be happy right here, right now.