We were driving by trees earlier on our way home.

And it suddenly hit me - I'm near trees again.
Which may not seem significant to you, but as someone who has grown up surrounded by redwoods, trees are as much a part of me (and my happiness), as water is to a fish.  Not to mention, they're green, which is my favourite colour, because it signifies life.

But how odd...that I should be around trees again, and not even notice how much more abundant they are in my surroundings, when I've missed them so much and for so long.

Realising this got me thinking.  How many other things - and people - have there been present in my life that I have taken for granted; only to notice how much they mean to me when they're gone.

And what a vicious cycle this is, for it is not the first time I've been aware of this conundrum.  We exist, we live.  People, places, objects, are a part of our daily routine, our daily interactions, our daily sights.  And then the moment these items of comfort and familiarity are ripped out of our fingers, we are painfully and torturously aware of their absence.

Is it inescapable...this cycle of fate, of expected and counted on objects, to have them eventually exit our lives in some manner, and then - and only then - realise just how much significance those things held?  Are we just fickle enough beings to where our minds are only ever focused on the things we need to get done, to accomplish, or the things we don't have that we think we need to have, only to ignore the precious gifts we already behold?  Is there any possible way to retrain or rewire our brains to be present, to be aware, to give thanks for that with which we are blessed with?


Perhaps there's more than one reason why we're commanded to think on good and honourable things*.  Not only to renew our minds, and focus on the good, and thus the goodness of God, but also to remember and focus on what we already have...and be grateful for it.

I don't want to live a life of regret, of chasing after and working hard for things that I may eventually attain, only to pass by and look over the things I already have.  I want to learn to be present, to be grateful for what I have.  And that isn't to say to stop working hard, to cease to have goals; no, by all means, to continue to strive for greater things, for an enriched life.  But in the midst of working hard to reach goals and achieve dreams, to be grounded in what I have.  To be thankful for a roof over my head, for food to eat, for the beauty of the earth around me, for someone who loves me unconditionally, for friends who remain friends in spite of distance, for the goodness and grace of God that is granted to me every day.

I want to be present.
I want to give thanks.
I want to live and experience and breathe and to not forget or take for granted that which I already have.



*"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things."
                                                                                                                Philippians 4:8