The Gift

The Gift
Why wait until you are at death's door before realizing what a precious and wonderful gift life really is? Why not learn to appreciate life more now, while you still have the chance, rather than waiting until it is too late to be able to do anything about it? The ability to enjoy life is a product of the mind and a gift of the heart; think of ways to put life into perspective and your heart will reward you with greater inner enrichment and a more gratifying life.
There may well be legitimate detractions that hinder your ability to enjoy life, and there are many among us who know pain that others cannot even fathom. But generally speaking, if you can still walk you are more fortunate than someone who cannot. If you can hear, talk or see, you are more fortunate than someone who is deaf, dumb or blind. If you can think clearly, even if deprived of some of the above gifts, you are still more fortunate than someone who has been robbed of his or her mental faculties due to accident, birth, disease or aging.
To take it a step further, not only should you be thankful for what you have, but also for what you don’t have, such as debilitating or disfiguring conditions, diseases, cancer or other life-altering impairments. Especially since the only real difference between you, me or anyone dealing with any of the above issues or worse, is pure happenstance, and for many, only a matter of time.
With that in mind, perhaps many of your daily conce
s and worries really aren't that bad after all; things could always be worse and can always get better. Perhaps life truly is something to be treasured now while you can still enjoy it. Maybe it’s time to give yourself one of the greatest gifts anyone can give to himself or herself: The Gift of Gratitude, and hence greater and deeper levels of inner joy, contentment and appreciation, in whatever capacity that defines you and your good fortune.