(This is Part 8 of a series. Go back to Part 7.)
Inevitably, human life contains difficulties from time to time. But a useful question to ask ourselves at such times is: What's the alternative?
It's part and parcel of human existence to experience both light and darkness, pleasure and pain, victory and defeat, "good" results and "bad" results. As I've written about elsewhere, we could say that life is a "package deal", in that these dualities arrive as a pair, just like summer and winter, day and night.
What's the alternative? The alternative to this life—just as it is—is not to exist at all, to not be here. And I think most of us would choose to be here.
Even with all its difficulties, life is beautiful, precious, a tremendous gift from the beyond. Just to be here as a cat or a spider is an incredible thing, to have the experience of existing. But to be here as a conscious human being is just an amazing stroke of luck, one in a billion trillion trillion, like winning the all-time lottery.
Thus how important it is to appreciate being here, to appreciate this incredible gift. Sharing of Space and the Lists of Appreciation can help us do that.
Incidentally, it's helpful to make Lists of Appreciation about any or all of the following subjects:
–Each person who is significant in our life;
–Anyone we're working or associating with;
–Our body;
–Our life;
–Our situation;
–The world;
–Reality;
–God, the One, etc. (whatever name we like).
Appreciation in the end leads to gratitude. Gratitude is appreciation's gift, the real treasure, one could almost say the real reason for being here. There, I've said it:
The reason for being here is the potential to feel gratitude.
When we look up at the stars and feel gratitude, when we look at our surroundings no matter how humble and feel gratitude, when we look into the eyes of those around us and feel gratitude, that is when we walk through the doors of paradise right here on good old earth.
That is when we feel grateful just for being here, that's when we feel a great thankfulness just for the opportunity to experience this life, this little breeze, this bubble, this fragile and precious moment.
(This is the end of Part 8. Go to Part 9.)
—jim sloman, 7.24.05
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