| If you ever want to be REALLY thankful at Thanksgiving, spend your holidays with peasants in the Global South.
Today I woke up at home, in my bed (which I felt lucky to sleep in), and looked at my clock (which I am lucky to have), and saw that it was 11am. I felt lucky that I could sleep in so late and I didn't have to wake up before dawn to make beans and tortillas from scratch for breakfast over an open fire that I had to build myself. It's freezing here in San Diego, but our house had the heat turned on, and I felt lucky for that too.
I pet my cats (who have no idea how lucky they are) and snoozed for a while, and then got up and took a hot shower, feeling thankful for the running, potable, and hot water, as well as the bathtub and the fact that, had I wanted, I could have taken a nice, hot bath instead. I saw some showers in Mexico but I don't think anyone I met has the privilege of soaking in a hot bath. And forget the fancy aromatherapy bath products.
I shaved my legs for the first time in a week (I lost my razor blade in Mexico), knowing what a silly, frivolous thing it was to do, since after all, hairless legs are not essential in life. I'm lucky that it's nothing to me to be able to afford razors and blades and that I can drive my 2009 Toyota Prius to the store (which is nearby on paved roads) to go get them.
I felt lucky for my organic, handcrafted bath products, which the people I spent the last week with in Mexico would not be able to afford if they could get to a store that sold them, which they can't. They've got only a limited choice of cheap and probably somewhat toxic brands of cleaning and personal care products.
After my shower, I put on my glasses, which I am REALLY lucky to have. I was lucky to go to the eye doctor for a new, updated prescription before I left for my trip, and I am lucky that I have fashionable Kate Spade frames that I barely had to pay anything for because I had insurance when I got them (a few years ago). I would have severe headaches all the time were it not for my glasses, not to mention my prescription drugs and the doctors who prescribed them.
Then I went for my spray-on Benadryl to treat my mosquito bites with, feeling lucky that I had it, as well as the neem oil I had during my trip, that prevented me from getting even MORE mosquito bites. And I followed it up with the organic, fancy lotion I love to use, feeling very lucky that I have it and can afford it.
After I got dressed in clothes I feel lucky to easily afford, I did something that made me feel even luckier: I got my organic Chiapas coffee out of the freezer (that I am lucky to have) and put some of it in the coffee grinder (that I am lucky to have), and then put it plus some water in the coffee maker (that I am lucky to have). And while it was brewing, I put all of my dirty clothes from the trip in the washing machine (which I am REALLY lucky to have) along with some organic, non-toxic soap (that I am lucky to have).
Then I got my fresh, organic, non-homogenized milk from grass fed cows that I am REALLY REALLY REALLY lucky to have from the fridge (that I am lucky to have), to put some of it in my coffee. The people I met in Mexico often drink ultra high temperature pasteurized milk that can sit on the shelves for a long time without refrigeration (which many don't have), or they drink powdered milk.
Last of all, I took my coffee back to my bedroom, and hopped on my laptop (which I am lucky to have), using electricity (that I am lucky to have), to post this on the internet, which I am also lucky to have. And the next thing I should probably do is brush my teeth. And you know what? I am going to feel really, really lucky when I rinse my mouth out with the potable water that comes out of the tap after I am done. |
