Nothing taken for granted

“It is paradise here, if you have eyes to see and ears to hear.”—Jedidiah Jenkins

Wow! You guys blew me away with all your inspiring, encouraging comments. Thank you! SO MUCH!

I read and will consider every word as I commence on this exciting, new writing journey, knowing that, in the end, the muses always get the last word.

Even though I wrote an entire book on gratitude, I learned during the opening weeks of the World Cup that I still take way too many things for granted.

Take my hometown, for example. While I certainly include many of its assets on my daily list of amazing awesomeness, I didn’t realize how much I overlook until all these media outlets from all over the world started praising little old Lawrence, Kansas. The ultimate compliment, mentioned by many of the journalists, was “I could live here.”

I already appreciated that we Lawrencians are radically inclusive and open to everyone. And that we have scores of musician and artist transplants from California to New York and that the southwest corner of our Meadowbrook Apartments is considered by Google Earth to be the center of the earth.**

And I knew beat poet William Burroughs chose to live here longer than he lived anywhere and that our 100 Good Women (an organization that helps anybody with anything) raises funds with an annual Mrs. Roper walk.

For those who forgot Helen Roper from Three’s Company, think colorful caftans and over-sized costume jewelry on a rousing bar hop down our equally-colorful, historic downtown.

Though I regularly wrote travel articles for the very publications that praised our town, it never occurred to me to sing my own hometown’s praises. Like Byron Katie said yesterday, “the ego tries to talk us out of a perfect life.”

So, thank you universe for so clearly pointing out that, no matter how appreciative I think I am, there is always room for more gratitude, more enchantment.

Every single flower, tree and bumblebee is a gift to me. Every grin, every face, every living thing with which I share this wonderful world — thank you Louis Armstrong — is worth proclaiming huzzah from the tippy top of Mount Oread (yes, we even have a mini-mountain here).

So here’s to embracing it all and never again missing life’s gorgeous moments and unending gifts.

#222 Forever!

**The childhood bedroom of Brian McClendon, the co-inventor of Google Earth lived there (at the center of the earth) from the time he was four through age 18.

Pam Grout is the author of 22 books including E-Squared, Thank & Grow Rich , The Course in Miracles Experiment: A Starter Kit for Rewiring Your Mind (And Therefore Your World)and her latest, The Ego’s Playbook.