Being Aware
Today has been a good day so far. I feel good, I had a nice breakfast and it's been a nice day. I spent some time sitting outside with my family doing a bit of yard work, and I realized how rich we were. We don't live in a very big house, and we don't have a lot of things. But we are rich in experience and in comparison. Let me explain what I mean by that.
I am rich in experience. My family (if we wanted to) could live in a bigger house. Now I'm not exactly the head of the household but I have been told many times, if we wanted to we could. There are many reasons behind it that I will not go into detail about, but one of the reasons is what we can do by living in a smaller home. By living in the house we do now, we have extra money to experience lots of cool things. Like going to the movie theater, or amusement parks, and vacations! I cannot even believe that we are going to mexico next year as a family. I have been once before, but we wouldn't have gone if our grandparents didn't take us... which I am also incredibly amazed with; that I, of all people went to mexico with my whole family! Not many people can say that, and I am thankful that I can. With extra money saved by not living in a new, big house, we can gain experiences, build character, and have fun doing activities with each other and not material things. I am very grateful that I have the ability to travel to other places and do extra things... like Kung Fu!
I am also rich in comparison. Think about it; Some people don't have homes, three meals a day, clean water, hobbies, quality clothes, education, and good health. I have so many things compared to other people in the world. I have a phone. A phone! How amazing is it that I can communicate with anyone across the globe in seconds! I also have a guitar, me! Out of everyone out there, I have the opportunity to learn to play an instrument, make music! Yet here I am complaining about school and wasting my time watching TV, When other people would love to be in my shoes. Sometimes I wonder if others realize how rich they are when they get mad at the internet being slow or their car being junk.
Now, I feel bad, and you might but you shouldn't. As long as we are aware. We just have to be aware that we are the luckiest people. Be aware that it isn't about material things. Be aware that out of the 7 billion people on the earth, you are lucky enough to be training in Kung Fu, along with 300 other lucky people. That's really cool. That's really special. So I don't know about you, but next time I am staring at my phone screen, I am going to remember my guitar, my long board, my heavy bag, and take advantage of my riches, and go experience something. Everyone's something will be different. And I don't know about you, but I am always more aware when I am away from my device.
Today I did 10 pull ups. That is 1 more pull up than I need to get a 10 on them in the black belt fitness test. At the beginning of the year I could do 1. You know what? I'm even richer than I thought. Not many people have the chance to practice pull ups, and I can say I can.
I hope this blog gave you something to think about, or reflect. Thanks for reading.
Chantal Prince
