this is taken from the book blessings

                                 dont wait

it never occurs to us just how much we have to be thankful for until it is gone. just ask someone who has lost a loved one or seen her house go up in flames. sit and talk with the victim of a car accident who can no longer walk or someone who gambled away home and family.

we're so focused on what we wish we had, we sometimes forget what incredible blessings we already possess. then a terrible tragedy takes something we love away from us and all we can do is regret that we didnt appreciate it more or spend as much time with it as we should have.

but what if we could learn not to wait to appreciate? how joyful our lives would be if we could see the gifts that fill our everyday world!

being grateful means being in the now, living in the moment and taking notice of each blessing: our families and friends, our homes, our clothing, the food we eat, the sounds of the songbird and the ripple of water, our jobs...the list is unending when you count your blessings.

dont wait to appreciate the good things in life until they are gone. do it now. enjoy what you have while you have it, and you will never have to know the regret of the inappreciative.