-Orison Swett Marden
Life since I was a child has led me to appreciate even the smallest things, simply because I didn't have them and they were hard to acquire or because I always valued people and time with them and still do today.
I think this is one of the issues that I had to reflect on the most to find those things that I have taken for granted, either in the past or today.
I asked myself for a long time: what things have I not appreciated to the fullest and should have done or now do, having learned.
It has not been easy to answer that question, I had to make a big mental and emotional journey.
My big garden and its enjoyment.
A few years ago and in fact since I was born I had a huge garden at home that was looked after by my maternal grandmother and when she was not there the care was divided between three, one of those people was me.
It always meant a lot of work to maintain it, as there was little water and there were endless hours of watering, mowing the lawn, pruning trees, plants and rose bushes. The garden was 20 x 50 square metres.
I took it for granted, its enjoyment, I only saw it as work and work every weekend and did not enjoy it, only a little at the end before I moved in.
I didn't appreciate that space as I should have and now I am making amends for that by enjoying a lot of nature here.
Leisure time, time for myself.
In this journey into the past, I realised that I always left myself for last. Everything else came first, work, family, home, everything else came first.
All the hours were dedicated to things that had to be done, obligations, homework, things that couldn't be left... and I left myself, I didn't properly appreciate the leisure time, the time for myself or the time of rest that I should have or wanted to have.
Leisure and relaxation time is necessary, otherwise it affects the body. I took that for granted, it was necessary and I didn't appreciate it as I should have.
Today I understand it and I work on it, even if only for a few moments, doing small things.
The presence of people.
In most cases, if not in almost all cases, I value very much the presence of people in my life, the time with them, both the time I dedicate to them and the time they give me.
But there was one person with whom I took presence and time for granted, as well as small details of sharing, and that person was my godfather, a great-uncle on my mother's side.
I regretted it very much when he left and I had never shared a mate with him. At that time I didn't drink mate, but he loved it, even if he drank it boiling. I took his presence for granted and although he was very old he had a lot of vitality, but suddenly he was gone and I was left with the bitter taste that I had missed enjoying myself with him.
All this despite the fact that I spent time at his side in the garden, when he made cakes, on birthdays and much more. But those little details were missing. I didn't fully appreciate them and then with time I realised.
From all this I learned and improved, some things are gone and I can't do anything about it, but I can properly appreciate what is in my present and what is to come. Life is learning, that is what we came to earth for.
What about you? What have you taken for granted in this life?
This is one of the great topics that @galenkp brings us to reflect on this weekend.
Best wishes to all and see you next time.
Amonet.
Used translator Deepl.com free version.
