Lesson in Gratitude in New Beginnings
- July 4, 2014, 10:08 p.m.
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- Public
This week was a lesson in gratitude. I walked through the front door of my condo Tuesday night into what felt like a sauna. Yep, my air conditioning was broken, just in time for the 4th of July. When I had my inspection prior to buying my place, I the inspector cautioned me that the A/C was old and would have to be replaced soon, real soon. One of the requests I made of the seller before I closed was that he get the A/C unit serviced. I was hoping I could make it at least one summer before having to pay out several thousand dollars for the replacement. Apparently, that wishful thinking just wasn’t in the cards.
Getting it fixed went remarkably quick. I contacted a repair service that very night, and I received a call back Wednesday morning. The repairman was able to schedule an inspection that afternoon. He said his guys could install my new unit next week, but a customer cancelled his/her Thursday appointment, and I was able to get a new unit yesterday.
Nonetheless, I had to spend two nights semi-sleeping in the heat. I opted to sleep in my office because it was better ventilated, and my fold out couch is made of faux leather, so my sweat wouldn’t be absorbed like it would have been in my bed. Apparently, my fold out couch isn’t as comfortable for sleeping as I imagined, but it may have been much better without the July Georgia heat.
My new unit cost me over $3,600, but I don’t care. Just being able to sit in my home without sweating is worth it. Besides, at the moment, the expenditure is more of an investment than an expense. If I sold my place tomorrow, I would probably recoup most, if not all, of what it cost me.
It gave me some perspective on gratitude I should do better to remember. I’m very fortunate to live in the country I live in and during this particular time of history. I’m fortunate that
An invention like air conditioning exists, a machine that on command will blow out cool, dry air to keep me from being uncomfortable. I’m amazed at how some people lived in the old south prior to anything like air conditioning, indoor plumbing and electricity, dentistry, and so on.
The standard of living where I live is so high, I can afford the miraculous, aforementioned machine. Seriously, almost everyone in this country is able to afford in home air conditioning. Even 50 years ago, only a third of rich households had air conditioning, but even if I were poor in this day and age, I’d likely have access to such an amenity.
By contrast, an acquaintance directed me to a website called Feminspire. Sometimes, writers who post on that website will post some thought provoking articles, but most of its content is feminist themed rage. An article posted on Monday in response to the SCOTUS’s Hobby Lobby decision was a predictable rant. I wonder if that particular writer was aware of all the facts, particularly that Hobby Lobby still covers 15 types of birth control, and it will not be compelled to pay for 2 particular morning after pills. Nevertheless, this particular writer said that women who live in this country are “f**ked” and that the court’s ruling was “draconian”. I wonder if people who hold that attitude know that Draco was the fellow who thought the death penalty should be implemented for nearly ever criminal offense. According to her argument, only covering 15 types of birth control instead of 17 is the equivalent of administering the death penalty.
Similarly, a cracked writer I like to read, David Wong, posted an article a few weeks ago about 12 things the video game industry needs to stop doing. I’ll gladly give David more slack than the previous writer because he initially acknowledged the ultimate silliness of complaining about video games when some people in the planet don’t have food.
I wonder if on some level, the people who complain about things realize that video games, birth control pills, air conditioning units, fast food restaurants, microwaveable dinners, movies, T.V. shows, and anything else that isn’t provided quickly enough, affordably enough, and/or with high enough quality for our arbitrarily high standards…those are luxuries that were never guaranteed. They didn’t have to be invented. Quite frankly, I think we should be amazed that we have the option (as well as the money and free time) to enjoy an electronic device that provides interactive stories for entertainment. We should be grateful that we can choose to enjoy the pleasure of sex while controlling whether or not we get pregnant from it, and that choice costs less than what you’re paying for the internet service to read this journal entry. Don’t get me started on the internet and how little it costs to have access to an almost limitless supply of information and entertainment. We should be amazed that everyone has a microwave. Believe it or not, there was a time acquiring a hot meal entailed hours of cooking and a pile of dirty dishes you had to hand wash rather than three minutes and a plastic tray you could throw away.
I’d like to give one more example that really made an impression on me. My father attends a church that created and sponsors another church in a poorer nation in Africa. The pastor of that sponsored church is a local of that country who my father’s church trained for the ministry. The first time he flew to America for training, the church put him in an apartment for the duration of his stay, and he was dumbfounded at the refrigerator. He couldn’t fathom what it was for, and when they told him it was for storing his food, and asked “storing my food for when?” You see, where he is from and lives, people eat whenever they have food, and if they don’t have food for a couple of days, they simply don’t eat.
I want to be more grateful and less cantankerous, which I think I’m prone to. For starters, I’m going to spend the rest of my 4th of July evening grateful that can just sit in my home and do nothing other than be comfortable.
Star Maiden ⋅ July 05, 2014