Don't Take It For Granted!

Gratefulness is an attribute that can brighten the lives of givers and receivers of blessings and favors. Many of these blessings are simple, yet important things that we tend to take for granted.

One of these blessings is the air we breathe. Are we consciously thankful for it?

As you may already know, the air that surround us is composed of many different gases, which serve unique purposes in and for the planet that houses us. Oxygen is one of them. Without this noble and important gas, we would not exist.

Now, I would like you to imagine you are trapped inside a room with no air to breathe. Then, I would like you to imagine that you have cancer, COPD, or another disease that cause you to feel breathless and gasp for air. How does imagining these things makes you feel?

Some people do not need to imagine these things: they live through them. People who suffer from pulmonary fibrosis, lung cancer, pneumonia, COPD, asthma, and several other illnesses, do not need to imagine being out of air. They can actually tell you what feeling breathless is like.

Years ago, I used to live with an aunt. She was asthmatic and sometimes she had bronchospastic crisis, which made it difficult for her to breathe. I watch my aunt struggled to breathe during those crises and eventually get better. It was a very painful experience for her, as well and the rest of our family. We all felt powerless to make my aunt feel well again.

At first, her illness was fairly controlled with medications and treatments. However, the passing of time had a deteriorating effect on her. One day, she had an asthma attack that took her last breath away from her. I was with her when this happened.

That difficult moment helped me attain a better appreciation for the air we breathe. This air contains oxygen, which is essential for living. Our very lives are tied to this gas. Hence, whenever people's oxygenation is low, and whenever people cannot breathe on their own, doctors put them on oxygen to prolong and improve the quality of their lives.

Thinking about these things causes me to feel thankful for the air that carries oxygen. Each time we breathe. our lungs get filled with this nurturing gas and then send it to the blood, which in turn send it to the bodily organs that needed it to produce the energy that powers our very lives.

Oxygen reminds me of the influence we may have on other people. It also reminds me of the role that we play in each other’s lives.

Our attitude towards others is like air. The way we behave is like this precious gas. Likewise, the influence we exert on the lives of other people's lives could also act like the nurturing oxygen that spreads life everywhere its presence is felt.

Think about these things and ask yourself, how am I living my life? Am I like oxygen, which powers others to live better lives, or am like a toxic fume that others want to repel away from them?

I hope that your answer to this last question was negative. I hope that somehow, your life could become like a sweet aroma that may bless the lives of everyone you encounter each day.

Finally, I hope that we head into the next holiday season embracing positive attitudes that like air, may gladden the environment in which we are. May our positive experiences enrich the atmosphere of the places we visit; and may the upcoming holiday season be even more peaceful and enjoyable to us all. Have a blessed day!