After a busy weekend I noticed I’d left some unfinished water bottles in my car.  Even though my habit is to recycle the bottles, I realized the waste of pouring the old, now warm water down my kitchen sink.  Men, women, and children around the world were literally dying for a drink of water and here I was, pouring it down the drain.

It reminded me of the story of the monk who, after coming back from a monastery, labeled everything—house, electricity, water–to remind himself that the things we take for granted are, in fact, modern miracles. 

It’s this kind of mindfulness that came to me as I watched the liquid spilling into the sink: the importance of recognizing what we have.  That not everyone has what we have.  That we are luckier than we think.

So I’m going to look for opportunities to hold things up to the light and say, “Look, I have this.”  And see how many times I can say that.

It’s not the only road to happiness, but you can’t beat the scenery.  TZT