“Getting used to our blessings is one of the most important nonevil generators of human evil, tragedy and suffering.” ~ Abraham Maslow from Motivation and Personality
Here’s a ritual of mine: Often when I pay a bill or buy something or enjoy a meal, I pause for a moment to appreciate the incredible array of people who made that experience possible.
Think about it the next time you sit down for a meal. Look at the spoon or fork or knife you’re using. How did it get there on that table of yours? (And how did the table get there? And the floor? And…) Contemplate for a minute or two just WHO was involved in getting that spoon to you. Imagine the interconnected web of cooperating people who produced the raw materials, then those who shipped them to the manufacturer then those who created it (and all those who financed all that activity to begin with). Then, of course, we need to get it from the manufacturer to the store where you bought it. (Who built the trucks and boats and planes and trains that were used to ship it?) And on and on and on and on. It is truly STAGGERING when we see just how fortunate we are to have SO many people supporting us in EVERY moment of our lives.
We are so incredibly blessed. And it is so incredibly easy to forget how fortunate we are and just how much we depend on the love and service of others to do the most basic things in life.
Einstein said: “A human being is part of the whole, called by us ‘Universe’; a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison.”
While Marcus Aurelius, the 2nd Century Roman Stoic Philosopher and Roman Emperor, said: “Think often of the bond that unites all things in the universe, and their dependence on one another.”
I echo Aurelius’ mojo: Think often of the bond that unites ALL things in the universe, and their dependence on one another. How can you do that a little (a lot?) more today?!? :)
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