5 Things People Take for Granted
Daily Inspiration
By John H. Sklare, Ed.D, Lifescript Personal Coach
Published August 17, 2012
Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone?
Those were the memorable lyrics from a popular 1970’s hit song by Joni
Mitchell, titled “Big Yellow Taxi,” that I just heard playing on the
radio.
Truer words were never spoken, and those speak to the heart of my message today. With rare exception, most people take the most important things in life for granted.
Let me begin by saying that we’re all guilty of this to some degree. While it’s true that some of you are more tuned in to this than others, most people don’t give a second thought to the most precious things in life until they’re unavailable and the spotlight of awareness is brightly focused upon them.
So today I thought I’d share with you five of the most common things that I think most people take for granted:
1. Food and Water
When we get hungry or thirsty, we can simply pull into any fast-food joint or store and get something to drink and grab a quick bite to eat. We’re also quite accustomed to having our grocery stores stacked high and deep with a vast variety of purchasing options. Food and water is typically only a few minutes away, even at the worst of times for most of us.
Truer words were never spoken, and those speak to the heart of my message today. With rare exception, most people take the most important things in life for granted.
Let me begin by saying that we’re all guilty of this to some degree. While it’s true that some of you are more tuned in to this than others, most people don’t give a second thought to the most precious things in life until they’re unavailable and the spotlight of awareness is brightly focused upon them.
So today I thought I’d share with you five of the most common things that I think most people take for granted:
1. Food and Water
When we get hungry or thirsty, we can simply pull into any fast-food joint or store and get something to drink and grab a quick bite to eat. We’re also quite accustomed to having our grocery stores stacked high and deep with a vast variety of purchasing options. Food and water is typically only a few minutes away, even at the worst of times for most of us.
2. Your HealthWhen
I say health, I actually mean many different things beside the opposite
of illness. I’m also referring to things we just do without thought
every single day, like your ability to walk, use your hands, speak,
hear, smell, taste and think clearly, for just a few examples. The body
is an amazing creation and the fact that it operates smoothly most days
is still a magnificent mystery to me that far too many of us simply take
for granted.
3. Time
This is an interesting concept because I don’t think that most people realize how much they take time for granted until, that is, they get a bit older. Age has a way of teaching us all about how precious time is and how quickly it passes by us. Where did all of those years go? That’s a question I hear a lot from people as they age and mature.
4. Your Significant Other
There’s an unfortunate kind of complacency that seems to take hold in most relationships that’s born out of familiarity and naturally comes with the passage of time. The sad reality is that taking your significant other for granted can be emotionally distressing to your partner and potentially devastating to your relationship. Since human nature tends to take us in this direction, we should all be on guard about the downside of taking our companions for granted.
5. Friends and FamilyI think most people believe that their friends and family will always be there for them and, as a result, they’re often not treated with the kindness, love and respect they deserve. The reality is that these are the very people who we should attend to the most in our lives.
3. Time
This is an interesting concept because I don’t think that most people realize how much they take time for granted until, that is, they get a bit older. Age has a way of teaching us all about how precious time is and how quickly it passes by us. Where did all of those years go? That’s a question I hear a lot from people as they age and mature.
4. Your Significant Other
There’s an unfortunate kind of complacency that seems to take hold in most relationships that’s born out of familiarity and naturally comes with the passage of time. The sad reality is that taking your significant other for granted can be emotionally distressing to your partner and potentially devastating to your relationship. Since human nature tends to take us in this direction, we should all be on guard about the downside of taking our companions for granted.
5. Friends and FamilyI think most people believe that their friends and family will always be there for them and, as a result, they’re often not treated with the kindness, love and respect they deserve. The reality is that these are the very people who we should attend to the most in our lives.
I bet
many of you reading this today are guilty of at least one of the above
offenses. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re a bad or insensitive
person if you do. But whether you do it intentionally or not, it still
causes problems and creates emotional distance. In my opinion, there’s
always a small or large price to pay for taking someone or something for
granted.
Even though there’s some comfort in believing that someone or something will always be there for you when wanted or needed, there’s also great danger too. For example, taking the availability of food and water for granted probably won’t present you with many problems in this country. However, taking your significant other or you family members and friends for granted can lead to deeply hurt feelings, personal resentment and possible estrangement.
I hope my message today leaves you with your eyes a bit more open. As that famous line from that Joni Mitchell song so correctly warns: You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.
Be on guard for this all too common human tendency because, as late author Aldous Huxley once wrote, “Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.”
Wishing You Great Health,
Dr. John H. Sklare
Even though there’s some comfort in believing that someone or something will always be there for you when wanted or needed, there’s also great danger too. For example, taking the availability of food and water for granted probably won’t present you with many problems in this country. However, taking your significant other or you family members and friends for granted can lead to deeply hurt feelings, personal resentment and possible estrangement.
I hope my message today leaves you with your eyes a bit more open. As that famous line from that Joni Mitchell song so correctly warns: You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.
Be on guard for this all too common human tendency because, as late author Aldous Huxley once wrote, “Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.”
Wishing You Great Health,
Dr. John H. Sklare
My Thoughts
I have something else to add to this list which, I strongly believe, is the most important - God. A lot of us forget that we have God in our lives. Oh, yes, we pray. Yes, we go to church, maybe read a few bible passages. But are we really mindful about God?
Do we "take in" his teachings as we do food and water?
Do we think about our spiritual health?
Do we think of God as our "most significant other"?
Do we give God our time? Is He our priority?
Do we consider God as our "friend", our "family"?
May God forgive me for all the times I take him for granted. I pray that I will always be mindful of Him.
