TAKERS-FOR-GRANTED

Are you a taker? No, I don't mean that in the normal sense of the word. Are you someone who takes things for granted? What things, you ask? Well, the important yet subtle things which are often on the edge of our consciousness just waiting to be discovered, and sometimes are right in front of our noses, wishing we'd open our eyes.

I love to awake early in the morning, around 6 am, so I can spend the quiet birth hours of a new day on my deck, where I read and occasionally write, as in this moment. I was reading from one of my favorite books, A Touch of Wonder by Arthur Gordon and a short phrase drew my attention. "I, too, a taker-for-granted..." It started me to thinking. I didn't wonder if he was talking about me. I knew, intuitively, that he was, to me and to everyone else reading his book. No, instead I asked, "What am I taking for granted?" For me, a much more revealing question.

Even as I walked quietly into my office to get my laptop computer, I almost missed the masterpiece of still life art before me. It was my daughter, Amber, asleep on the futon in the living room. She's "going through a phrase" where she doesn't want to sleep in her room upstairs because monsters might climb in the window, so she sacks out each night on the futon. There she was, lying peacefully asleep, an angelic picture, ready for the taking, or for the taking-for-granted.

I paused for a moment and took it all in. . . this time. I think the question could be a useful one to ponder each day, perhaps for a week or longer. "What am I taking for granted today, in this moment?" It's not meant to be used to beat ourselves up over the degree to which we're asleep to the miracles and marvels of life, but only as a gentle nudge to awaken our senses further. For instance, it's mid-October, and there's an amazing transformation happening before my very eyes, as the summer greens turn to a blending of reds, oranges, and yellows. Yet, easily missed if we're not awake to the miracle of Fall.

I invite you to ponder the question with me this week. "What am I taking for granted today, in this moment that I can now take a moment to enjoy and appreciate?" See what appears from the edges of your consciousness, and from right under your nose. I'd enjoy hearing about them.

W. Bradford Swift is director of Life On Purpose Institute -- an organization dedicated to people clarifying their life purpose and living true to it -- where he is a coach, writer and trainer for other coaches. Hundreds of his articles have appeared in such diverse publications as Modern Maturity, Hope, New Age Journal, Yoga Journal, and many others. He may be contacted by email: brad@lifeonpurpose.com; by phone: 1-800-668-0183; or visit the Life On Purpose Institute website: http://www.lifeonpurpose.com. For a FREE subscription to Purposeful Pondering Ezine, send an email to PurposefulPondering-subscribe@one-list.com.