Count the blessings

When my friend told me that his doctor had proscribed salt and sugar for him due to his medical condition and that he was compelled to eat bland and tasteless food day in and day out, I felt inwardly grateful that I could have my food tastily with no such restrictions. When a close relative of mine is afflicted with Alzheimer and I found she can hardly converse meaningfully, I felt blessed that I can remember events and people. When I saw my neighbor walking with a walker even within the house, I thanked the Lord for the long walks that I have daily in the park watching the bright coloured flowers and happy children playing around. But I am grateful to Him only when I see such people struggling in their lives and that too for a while only. Otherwise I relapse into my habit of taking for granted the various small blessings without a thought they make much difference to the quality of my life.
It is a common failing in many of us that only when we hear bad news or see the sufferings that others undergo like the ones I detailed above that we realize that we took many things for granted. We do not give a second thought about the salt, sugar or water intake and assume they are insignificant till they become very important and hard to give up. Why not appreciate the many small things that we enjoy and be thankful to God even before we hear such bad news or ourselves compelled to forego when we fall sick. The ability to laugh, the beauty given to us, the wonderful family that we are born into, the good friends that we have got, the good health that we have and the nice job we have are all blessings that we should be constantly aware of, nurture them as gifts of God and be eternally grateful to Him in our prayers. We should learn to enjoy them even in their abundance till they are taken away if at all. Life is short with many surprises and imponderables. What is given today may not be there the next day. The awareness of impermanence of everything would bestow the right attitude to be thankful even for small things and appreciate them in full measure. Such an attitude if ingrained in us would make us live our lives humbly but with great joy in whatever position we are placed.