Revolution: How Do You Remember to Be Grateful?
By Marcy Kennedy (@MarcyKennedy)
I take my washing machine for granted. And my refrigerator. And cheesecake.
What if they were all gone tomorrow?
New to the fall lineup of TV shows on NBC is Revolution. An unknown phenomenon knocked out every power source across the globe. No electricity. No cars or planes. No batteries. Nothing works.
In the pilot episode, Ben Matheson (who knows the secret behind the power outage and knows the power won’t be coming back on—ever) empties the ice cream from his family’s freezer. He sets an entire carton down in front of his young daughter, Charlie.
“Really?” she asks.
Her mom nods. “It’s all going to melt anyway.”
Charlie shovels ice cream into her mouth.
Ben stops her. “Slow down. I want you to really remember what ice cream tastes like, okay?”
He wants her to savor it because he knows that carton will likely be the last ice cream she ever has.
Charlie nods, but you can tell she doesn’t really understand.
We’re a lot like Charlie sometimes.
No, we’re not in danger of the power going out forever (all joking about the zombie apocalypse aside), but we don’t always recognize how good we have it at this very moment.
So we forget to savor life and easily fall into the pattern of complaining rather than stopping to be grateful for what we have.
We rush through our meals without appreciating them. We grumble about having to do a load of laundry without being grateful for the fact that all we really have to do is sort, load, and fold. My grandma still remembers washing laundry by hand.
Because most of us haven’t truly known the kind of hardship where we go to sleep hungry and don’t know where we’ll be sleeping tomorrow, we don’t understand how blessed we are.
I’m a big offender.
Today is Thanksgiving in Canada, so I’m calling this my fresh start.
Starting today, I’m going to try to eat a little slower, appreciate the time spent with my family a little more, and grumble a little less.
When I’m annoyed about having to change the toilet paper roll, I’m going to be thankful I even have toilet paper (my husband says that people in Iraq use their left hands for the same purpose).
When I’m tired and don’t really feel like cooking dinner, I’m going to be thankful we have the option of take-out or, if I cook anyway, that I didn’t have to raise, kill, and pluck that chicken myself.
My life might be far from perfect, far from what I want it to be, but I have it pretty good.
What mundane item are you most thankful for?
And remember to vote for Zerynthia the warrior My Little Pony in Rebecca Enzor’s PonyFest12!
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Oct 08, 2012 @ 11:46:47
I think the thing I have to work the most to be thankful for is my job. I wish I had more time to write and didn’t have the stress of a day job so I often forget that the security of a monthly paycheck is what gives me the time and energy to write. I need to remember to be grateful for everything that job provides me with, like rent, food, clothing, my car, and co-workers who are great to bounce ideas off of and give me a chance to interact with others on a daily basis. Thanks for the reminder. It is too easy to fall into the habit of complaining when we really do have so much to feel grateful for.
Oct 08, 2012 @ 14:44:56
I think a lot of novelists can relate to that. Until we’re able to support ourselves on our fiction alone, we have to do other things. At the same time as we’re grateful for the money those other things bring in, we hate having to give up the time to work on our craft. I feel that way even though I bring in money through other writing and editing.
Oct 08, 2012 @ 12:56:25
Hey Marcy! You are SO right. I also take things for granted. We’re all guilty. Shame on us. Right now…this very minute…I’m thankful for a good cup of coffee! 🙂 But seriously, I will join your quest and slow down while I eat and take time to be thankful for my family and friends.
Great post.
Thanks for the reminder. God bless.
Darlene
P.S. I voted for Zerynthia!
Oct 08, 2012 @ 14:46:31
Coffee! Yes! A good cup of coffee is something I’m also very grateful for. I love a good latte or cappuccino, which is a far cry from the coffee my grandma grew up with.
Happy Thanksgiving to you too, and thanks for the vote!
Oct 08, 2012 @ 14:04:49
Great post, Marcy. We do take so much for granted, don’t we? I’m thankful for the chance to stay at home and make my own schedule, and for the roof over my head. Thanks for the reminder:)
Oct 08, 2012 @ 14:47:22
I feel very blessed to also be able to work from home. That’s not something everyone is able to do, and I know I tend to take it for granted some days. Thanks for the great reminder for me 🙂
Oct 08, 2012 @ 14:13:21
There are so many things, little and big, that I’m thankful for, but you’re right ~ we do take them for granted. When I started my Attitude of Gratitude photo a day for facebook, I thought it would be a breeze. Mostly it has been. Some days I’m grateful I have a dog that loves me and cuddles with me, but then there are days where nothing goes right and it’s a challenge to find one thing to be grateful for. Those are the times when I stop and reflect, like you have, on all that I have: A wonderful husband who adores me even when I’m being a brat, two kids who are uniquely fabulous and remind me that life isn’t always about deadlines and laundry, a home over my head, clothes to wear, food to eat, stores where I can find tons of clothes and food, etc. I have what others only dream of having and for that, I’m very, very grateful.
Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Oct 08, 2012 @ 14:48:32
I’ve loved your Attitude of Gratitude photos. Sometimes I’ll be in a grumpy mood, and I’ll see one of your pictures, and it reminds me that I have more good than bad in my life. So you’re touching more people than you realize 🙂
Oct 08, 2012 @ 14:31:39
I’ve been watching Revolution. It’s right up my alley. I know I take technology for granted everyday. Heck, I remember the first time I used a computer with a mouse 20 years ago. LOL. Both my girls have been using computers since they were old enough to hold a mouse. The thing I take for granted the most is having all my phone numbers in a contacts list in my phone. I’m grateful I don’t have to memorize everyone’s phone numbers!
Oct 08, 2012 @ 14:43:04
I’m in the generation that filled the gap between when computers weren’t owned by normal people and now. My uncle worked for the government, and I can still remember being around 10 years old and he gave us his old Commadore 64 because he was getting a new computer. I was in awe of that computer because I could play pong and this text-based game of exploration. I thought it was incredibly sophisticated. I can still remember when we got the original Nintendo, and kids and adults alike played for hours because we’d never seen anything like it before.
I’m grateful for when I was born because I can remember what it was like before the technology boom, and I think that helps keep me grateful for my computer and the internet even on the days they also make me want to cry.
Oct 08, 2012 @ 16:22:45
When I was in college, I wrote my papers on a Brother word processor. Oh my gosh, that thing was the best thing in the world (except when I was finishing a 10-page paper at the last minute because that would take an hour to print!). When I was a kid, we had an Atari console with Pong and Frogger. I’d forgotten those until you mentioned your Nintendo! I’m grateful for those days, too.
Oct 10, 2012 @ 20:20:14
I loved Frogger! Actually, there’s probably an app for it for our phones now.
Oct 09, 2012 @ 16:25:56
I’ve taken the ability to grab food or drinks whenever I so please for granted for years. Then I got Invisalign—the clear “braces”-like retainers. Now that I’m finished (thank goodness), I’m trying to maintain what they taught me. And here I’d thought I was a total mindful eater already… I suppose we always have room to grow.
Checking in with myself and talking about what I’m grateful for really help keep my gratitude flowing. Thanks for the helpful reminder!
Oct 09, 2012 @ 23:04:01
so true, Marcy. we take all the little things for granted. and they’re what make such a good quality of life. i meant to PVR that show when my daughter mentioned it. i’m off to find it now.
Oct 10, 2012 @ 03:30:29
I’m grateful for my laptop. I don’t think I’d ever have started writing my novel if I had to do it on a typewriter or *shudders* by hand, Jane Austen-style. However, in the day-to-day mundane, I’m grateful for running water. Turn on the faucet and there it is. My mom still tells how she and my dad lived on a farm before I was born. They rented a smaller house from the farmer, and when the water pump went out he had to bring them 2 40 gallon milk cans full of water every day until he got it fixed.
Oct 10, 2012 @ 12:32:30
I’ve had a similar experience, and so I’m also grateful for being able to just turn on the tap and have water come out. I grew up on a farm, and I was home from university one time while my parents were away, and our well pump went out. Thankfully, we had great neighbors who were able to get it fixed for me within 48 hours because my parents weren’t coming home for a week.
Oct 10, 2012 @ 20:22:35
I’m grateful for hot water at the turn of a faucet, and for flush toilets. And a thermostat that heats the house nicely. And … and …
After doing my “Simple Pleasures” post, I decided I’m going to take one or two at a time (new things) and write more. There are so many!
Oct 10, 2012 @ 21:01:41
Your Simple Pleasures post was great. As I was reading it today, my mind was immediately jumping to all the small things that I so often overlook.
Oct 11, 2012 @ 02:47:49
I agree with Jennifer. I am extremely grateful for warm running water, flushing toilets, refrigerators, microwaves, central heating and air, grocery stores and department stores, to name a few. I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently, and not because of this new show. It’s a scary prospect, going without, because we’ve always had these things and its made us soft. We forget how lucky and easy we have it.
Thank you for the great post, Marcy.