Personal Development And Self-care

 Written By: Waqas Rafiq

The Importance of Being Grateful for Our Daily Routine and Environment

On a more spiritual note, I think this is one of the biggest areas where we need to work on being grateful for our daily routine and environment. One of these major points of gratitude is going over what I like to call "The 3 Things." These are things like:

All in all, how many times during life do you see an empty box or box of chocolates right? Most of us don't like when we have to put them somewhere that will be kept safe. We feel really sad as if they're gone forever because even though we have them stashed away; they're not there. That may sound silly but it's something most people forget and take for granted. When we have little boxes of chocolates instead of just taking them with us everywhere we go; we make sure they aren't gone forever.

As much as we take things for granted sometimes they can go missing which also means they could stay empty for a prolonged amount of time. Nowadays when we talk about giving things we would miss if they were still here; we mean that we should probably give them back. Of course, sometimes that's not possible. But when we look at how much stuff we already own or have and how much of anything we've taken for granted; chances are that we could start doing a bit extra and get that extra time back and that extra stuff stored. So by letting ourselves feel the emotions of those things and thinking that we still own them then we could potentially give a little extra as well.

So instead of keeping those empty boxes stashed away; start opening up your empty boxes first just by putting them where it belongs and start feeling and enjoying them. You wouldn't want them empty for all eternity so why keep them here in your cupboards? Or rather than store them somewhere else; maybe make little boxes of everything you have and fill them instead of storing them somewhere. Maybe also start sharing the stuff that you own with the ones who really love you so you know exactly what's inside each of them. It'll help you feel less alone and more loved, and you would think that you've done them some favor by having it be in their hands. If you start collecting these items or boxes of things then you'll be able to be more thankful for what you are now and you won't feel ungrateful for what you already have.

A new box of chocolate!

So next time you're grocery shopping goes through each box looking for the things you want to keep. Take notes on items in each box and plan what you might want to buy after that so you won't buy the same thing twice. Make sure that whatever you're planning to buy isn't too big or expensive. At least that way you're making sure you pay less than you'd like for something. Just don't buy things you'd rather have and let them go. It makes you happy! Maybe you'll want some chocolates but you'll realize you only really like chocolate cake. Well, you don't have to waste money on that just keep it in the fridge. All the chocolate cakes are out of date now and have been discontinued. There are new things coming out every day and new chocolate cake options coming out each day that you actually don't have to have any knowledge about.

You're going to end up with a ton of chocolates that you never wanted to buy but you know you need to. Not making yourself feel bad for not wanting things. Remember in the movie 'Sidewalkers' when they had all these toys they could never get them yet? They had a ton of kids playing around like most kids and they didn't know how to play them and then suddenly someone asked them "Why can't you play those games?" Then they ended up getting those toys and that was enough to convince them they could finally play these games. And they did and they made friends for life!

So next time you're at the supermarket checkout line just grab that box of chocolate cake that you've never wanted but you have to at least have a piece of each one. Sometimes it can get quite tricky finding things from previous boxes since there's usually some combination of different types that don't fit into this box. Try to avoid making a mistake like that. Look carefully at each of the other boxes to find the perfect pair of socks but don't bother worrying about the size since your size will be okay. Also, the better the quality the better the taste of it because there are no two ways about it. Once found, throw away the rest. Each box can hold its own story. Some might have the prettiest and best chocolates on the market while others might have nice chips and candy bits. The point is, it can be anywhere! Every place is the same. For example, my dad's place has so many different kinds of food. My grandma's house has a lot of fun stuff as well. He's probably got a whole room dedicated to things like potato chips, ice cream sandwiches, fruit and snacks, candy and sweets, meats, etc. This guy loves his food! He knows that's why he works in restaurants. To try new foods but if it happens to him, he hasn't come up with anything good. Yet! Even though he looks pretty poor but he's not. He knows his worth! He's a boss at McDonald's in France. He's worked there for ten years so, he must have done a good job. He has his very own french fries every now and again. However, every time we go on vacation, we always take his food with us since we know it'll be full of cheese! It's kind of like a family affair. We bring our stuff on the trip just for the sake of bringing them along. In case anyone ever asks "What's wrong with you?" My dear friend said, "I haven't eaten anything since yesterday!" But he really meant to say something else. Everyone knows I'm vegan so he says "What are you looking for?" Now he goes on to tell me "you should go to Whole Foods" which I hadn't heard of until I started reading so I thought I had to. After that long story about Whole Foods; what happened, they gave me a card and that's what happened. As soon as I saw the name it immediately came to mind. I thought it might be some kind of scam though and it has taken me like thirty seconds to decide whether I should go or not. Then they asked me why I'm interested in it. Yes! A business that sells frozen pizza. That's what I thought of the next minute! No, I mean what's the main reason? Why would you want to go to this specific location? Since they've had such low profits they're struggling financially. What's more convenient than ordering online? How easily does it work? Is it safe? All of those questions hit me. The simple answer was because I wanted to eat pizza. I started searching the local area and eventually, I reached the nearest supermarket "McDonald's." Before leaving my car and entering the store I asked my cashier what I could buy. She told me that I could purchase myself some of McDonald's famous chicken nuggets, a bottle of water, five slices of bread, and two cups of coffee. She went on to tell me that you can just choose not to have any meat in the products but that if I wanted to eat something without the use of a single bite of meat then I can. In her face, I could tell that she was trying to read me and see if I wanted that particular product. Because of her, I ordered three pieces of chicken nuggets, two large portions of baked fries, and three cups of milk. I then proceeded on my walk back to my car.

Just in case it helps give someone an idea of how easy it is to order some of anything to be delivered to your door, click here to know more.