Appreciating What We Have

Imagine walking alongside a blind girl who hated herself purely for the fact she was blind, her footsteps echoing off the cold, grey walls of a first-century street. The only person she didn’t hate was her loving boyfriend, as he was always there for her, a constant source of comfort in a world she couldn’t see. She said that if she could only see the world, she would marry him, her voice filled with a deep longing.

One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her – now she could see everything, including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend asked her, “now that you can see the world, will you marry me?” The girl's response was not one of joy, but of shock and disappointment.

The girl was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend was blind too, and refused to marry him. Her boyfriend walked away in tears, and later wrote a letter to her saying:

“Just take care of my eyes dear.”

I recall a similar situation where a friend of mine, who had been struggling financially, finally landed his dream job. However, soon after, he began to complain about the long working hours and the stress that came with it, illustrating how our circumstances can change our perspective. This reminds me of my own experience, when I got my first car - I was thrilled, but soon found myself worrying about parking, maintenance, and insurance, which had never crossed my mind before. There are many things to take away from this story, not just one, and our own lives often show us that we, like the girl, often take things for granted until they are gone. My friend's story and my own experience with the car taught me that gratitude is a choice, one that requires intentional focus on the good things in our lives. For instance, I have a neighbor who lost their home in a fire, and afterwards, they would often express gratitude for the simple things they once took for granted, like a warm meal or a place to sleep, which made me realize that gratitude can be practiced even in the toughest of times, and that it's the small things that truly bring us joy and fulfillment.