So often in life we take our treasures for granted. Possibly because through constant contact the novelty wears off and they become ordinary. I remember when my parents first got chickens how excited my brothers were to collect the eggs. For the first week.
Our treasures so often fade into the woodwork and we don’t see them anymore. And so we go looking for more…and more…and more…and wonder why they quickly disappear once we have them in our grasp.
How do we re-awaken to wonder? How do we re-awaken to the treasures we already have? The answer is one you probably have heard many times. It is a common answer because it commonly works when applied--but is, sadly, commonly not used.
Gratitude helps us remember that the ordinary, somewhat mundane things around us, are treasures. Instead of following the "stale trick" of taking life for granted, G.K. Chesterton urged his readers a century ago, we should take life as granted…and the only response to a granted life is gratitude.
"By small means are great things brought to pass" is a truism that threads through the ages bringing miracles in its wake. Young children, "small means" by themselves, are marvelous examples of treasuring and being enthralled by the ordinary. For to them it is extraordinary—wonders are all around them…
“A child of seven is excited,” G.K. Chesterton remarked, “by being told that Tommy opened a door and saw a dragon. But a child of three is excited by being told that Tommy opened a door.” (Orthodoxy)
What other treasures are sources of wonder for little kids?
Boxes for one. What a marvelous thing a box is! You can (if it’s large enough) sit in a box, or put stuff in a box, or take stuff out of a box, or squish a box…amazing!
And then there are light switches. Just by hitting a switch on the wall a darkened room can suddenly be illuminated and you can see everything in it. Hit the switch again and the room is awash in darkness. What power!
Through cultivating gratitude we are conscious of the treasure, the grace of ordinary things, people, ideas. Just like hitting a light switch can illumine a darkened room, gratitude can illuminate the wonder of the ordinary—and we see it in its true light—extraordinary, a freely granted gift, our inheritance upon being born in the world.
What have you inherited? What treasures can you discover in the ordinary?
Here are some treasures I’ve inherited:
- Gospel in its fullness
- Scriptures printed and in my own language
- Ancestors with great faith, great work-ethic and great hearts
- Song of birds in the early morning
- Sweet perfume of rain-washed lilacs
- Beauty of pines frosted with snow
- Hot water
- A variety of fresh fruit and vegetables
- Electricity
- Plumbing
...and, of course, boxes and light switches.
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