“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” Cynthia Ozick

Your alarm clock goes off. You stretch, prop yourself up and climb out of bed. You walk to the kitchen, pour yourself a cup of coffee and savor the aroma and the jolt it gives you. You then shower, get dressed, jump into your car, start the engine and begin your day. Sound familiar?

Think about what just happened. Countless blessings occurred that you may not have given a second thought. Just for giggles, let’s count all of the blessings in the above paragraph. Your alarm goes off. This means that you have electricity. Do you even know where your electricity came from? Although the invention of electricity hasn’t been attributed to one person, it was found that in the sixth century BC a Greek named Thales of Miletus discovered that rubbing a fur would make a couple of objects attract one another. Through his experiments he was able to product electrical sparks from amber.

During the Renaissance, Italian physicist Girolamo Cardano discovered fundamental aspects of electrical power and magnetism. In 1660 Otto von Guericke invented an electrostatic generator. It wasn’t until the nineteenth century that Benjamin Franklin performed his famous experiment with a kite. (1) The power of electricity that we enjoy today took a lot of time and a lot of people to perfect. That’s a blessing.

What about your alarm clock? The first mechanical alarm clock was invented by Levi Hutchins, of New Hampshire, in the United States, in 1787. He made the device for his personal use and it only rang at 4AM to wake him up in time for work. (Sound familiar?) The mechanical alarm clock was patented in 1847 by French inventor Antoine Redier. (2) We may not love our alarm clocks, but they certainly do their job - and that’s a blessing.

Next, you got out of bed. Did you ever consider how many people it took to bring your bed to you? From the growers of the cotton to make the mattress, to the steel mill that formed the coils, to the assembly plant, the retail store and the delivery truck that brought your bed to its final destination, you’re sleeping on the handiwork of many.

Because you were able to get up, this means you have full use of your limbs to move you to where you want to go. You walk — you are blessed with the strength of healthy legs to do so. You pour yourself coffee — aren’t you glad you didn’t have to participate in the back-breaking task of picking the coffee beans? You also have the advantage of clean water, right from your tap.

You shower — thank goodness for indoor plumbing! You get dressed — having a closet full of choices in your wardrobe. You get in your car and it starts — we don’t have to walk or ride bicycles to work unless we want to. These are all miracles of modern-day technology.

When you consider every single thing that you do during the course of the day and the thousands of people who were involved in making it happen, do you have a choice but to be thankful?

Take the time to consider ALL of your blessings today and be grateful. You can appreciate by subtraction if you want to — think about what your life would be like if you DIDN’T have any of the above items in your life (No COFFEE? Are you kidding me?)

Now, are you surprised or extra grateful right now?

Have fun,

Lisa

www.grategy.com

No matter how your day started out today, counting ALL your blessings makes it better.

(1) http://www.whoinventedit.net/who-invented-electricity.html

(2) http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_invented_the_alarm_clock#ixzz21qRQZGIL