THE WORLD WE FORGOT TO BE GRATEFUL FOR

"There's enough that you don't know to make whole ‘nother world."

These words, spoken by my mother, didn't mean anything to me when I was growing up – she sometimes called me a “know-it-all.’ But today I see them for what they were - words of wisdom. What we don't know is dragging us into a different world –one we will soon regret inhabiting:

A world that is running out of clean air and water fit to drink.

A world where digital devices are taking over our lives.

A world where children are being raised by "smart" devices that are

depriving them of the basic skills they need to become well-balanced, responsible human beings.

A world where algorithms decide what we believe before we've had the chance to think for ourselves.

A world where we keep chasing more - more money, more followers, more attention, and calling it progress.

A world where comparison has replaced contentment, and we feel guilty for taking a well-needed rest.

And a world that has forgotten how to live grateful.  

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

A few weeks ago, my niece told me that one night, while she was in bed, her four-year-old son used her “smart” phone to order a Spiderman outfit and had it “Door Dashed” to their home. That scares me.

We can’t expect tech companies or government to fix a problem they helped create. And we can't throw all the blame on them either. If we’re truly grateful for the things that keep us human, we would stop fueling a digital warfare aimed at replacing us with machines they can control, and stop paying them to use us as guinea pigs.

For the sake of our children, we would return to a universal practice that has been embraced by almost every religion and culture throughout human history – the Gratitude practice.  It won’t fix the world overnight. But it can sharpen our awareness of the gifts we’ve been given freely, gifts that we take for granted every day, gifts that, if recognized, could turn things around, one person and one small change at a time.

My mother was right: there is enough we don't know to make another world. And what we don’t know yet is that the world we're looking for is already here, waiting for us to be grateful enough to see it.

In the meantime, with so much unrest around us, I’ll keep focusing on what I have left –another day to share the gifts of gratitude. They keep me well, regardless of the circumstances. And I'll see if my great-nephew can start a gratitude list - but not on his "smart" phone! :)

Here are a few questions for you to ponder this week:

What's one moment recently when technology did something for you (or your family) that you used to do yourselves?  How did it make you feel?

Where in your own life have you confused more with better?

What would it look like to measure a day well-lived by contentment instead of accumulation?

Be grateful; Be Well!

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