Isn’t it funny how you don’t notice things that are very obvious to others, simply because you have grown used to them? Here is an example from my life. I used to live in a house with a borrowed refrigerator. It was a gift from a friend and my family wasn’t going to turn down a free appliance. But there was one problem. Over time it started to make some weird noises. When the compressor stopped its cycle it would cut off violently, with a chugging sound. This happened all the time and so we all filtered it out. We didn’t hear it anymore. It was only when others came to visit us that we were reminded of it. Other people would exclaim “What is that noise?” We had to think a bit before figuring out what they were talking about. Another example has to do with the place I grew up. I never noticed it before but there weren’t many lights on the roads between cities. The only light you had was from your car. I was completely ignorant of this until I had an out-of-state friend with me in the car who pointed it out.
I have heard that Australia is on the way to solving this issue of lights on the roads. They are experimenting with glow-in-the-dark street markings. That sounds really interesting. Most people take light for granted until it isn’t there. Artificial light is just something that a lot of us have. We don’t have to think about light. If we want a light to come on in our house we simply flip a switch and “poof” a light comes on. We decorate with light in our yards. We do this especially around holidays. NASA says that during that time in the US cities glow anywhere from 20 to 50 percent brighter at night.
But this wasn’t always the case. In fact for most of human history the concept of artificial light was consigned to fire of some sort. If you wanted light indoors at night you had to light candles or a fireplace, or maybe an oil lamp. Something had to burn to give you light. This made the night time a lot scarier than it may seem now. It was dangerous to travel at night. People who found themselves at another location other than thier homes at dusk had a big decision to make. They either had to hasten home and try to get there before nightfall, or they had to make arrangements to stay the night wherever they were.
A popular belief was that supernatural threats came with the darkness, but physical threats were there too. You could easily stumble in the dark or trip on something you couldn’t see. You could hit your head on a low hanging sign in town with no light about. And even when you were in your own house the darkness brought with it uncertainty. Were criminals about, taking advantage of the cover of night? You could never be sure. These were dark times indeed (pun intended).
Light isn’t the only thing we take for granted. How about literacy, or access to information through the internet? What about over the counter medication such as aspirin? All of those things would have been miraculous to have centuries ago. And then there is clean water. About half of the people in the world right now do not have access to a decent toilet.
Those of us lucky enough to have all of this can very easily fall into the trap of not thinking about it. But if we do that we lose out on a potential blessing from God: mindfulness. The founder of Hasidic Judaism once said “Truly, you are where your mind is.” I think he was on to something. When you appreciate what you have you realize what blessings have been given to you more. We get in trouble when we concentrate more on the things we lack.
Nehemiah 9:16-17
16 ‘But they and our ancestors acted presumptuously and stiffened their necks and did not obey your commandments; 17 they refused to obey, and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them; but they stiffened their necks and determined to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and you did not forsake them.
Do we do that? Are we “not mindful of the wonders” performed by God in our lives?
There are tangible benefits of mindfulness. Scientists study everything these days, and this is no exception. They have laid out the following benefits from being mindful in your life:
Less stress
An enhanced ability to deal with illness
A greater ability to recover from an illness
Decreased depressive symptoms
Improved general health, especially cardiovascular health
So what can you do to practice mindfulness? Maybe the best thing is to pay attention. Take time out of a busy life to notice what is going on. When you listen to music, really try to appreciate it. When you eat something, take the time to truly enjoy it. Find joy in the simple things. And treat yourself the way you would treat a good friend. Even something as simple as focusing on breathing can work.
When we think of the things that have been given to us we become better stewards of God’s gifts. Try it out and see where it takes you.
God Bless