Monday, June 7, 2010

Apprecition of What We Have

Antoine de Saint-ExupĂ©ry, in his classic book The Little Prince, teaches us that "One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes." It is easy to lose track of the fact that the most important things cannot be purchased or owned. They are sometimes transient and almost always invisible. We continue to try to find happiness in obtaining more and more despite this. The world in which we live tends to reinforce the notion that if a little is good, more will be better. Unhappiness usually follows. There is an overriding sense that we just don't have enough or can't get enough of something.

Wanting and craving what we don't have prevents us from appreciating and enjoying what we do have right now. We often sell ourselves continual dissatisfaction and discontent by focusing on what we appear to lack. The envy of other people’s possessions, power and influence leads us to feel inadequate. We measure ourselves and always come up short.

How can we learn to savor the blessings we have now and appreciate the joy of all that is really important? One way to achieve this attitude of gratitude is to begin to live life with the knowledge that tomorrow the people or things that we love might not be here to enjoy. It should not take an actual loss to create this mind set. Life now is where we are living. Nothing can ever really fill all of our expectations and desires. The true value of life is in the present.  It is found in the people and things that surround us.

We cannot wait until tomorrow to realize that our lives are filled with special blessings. Tomorrow might be too late to see what has true value and worth. Living in the here and now allows us to enjoy all that we have and will truly satisfy our desires. What we already have is truly valuable. It is important to appreciate and celebrate the life that we are given while we still have the time left to enjoy it.