appreciation

by Eli

at about 5pm on thanksgiving day i found myself peeling potatoes in the kitchen with elaine. the last two thanksgivings i’ve been in charge of the mashed potatoes and i’ve always had a helper. this year it was elaine.

so elaine and i are chatting and peeling and chatting and peeling. i can’t say exactly how we got where we were in the conversation, but at some point a memory of my college days clicked into my mind.

i had a geology teacher in college who was probably one of the best teachers i’ve ever had in my whole life. he didn’t really teach me much about geology, but he did teach me about life in general. it was great. he said that he didn’t really care if we learned anything specific about geology, he just wanted us to be able to appreciate geology.

and that is when he turned into a life teacher. he said that our appreciation of things is what makes life worth living, it’s what makes everyday enjoyable. it’s what makes rainy days fun and not a waste. it’s what makes watching a window washer interesting and not boring. it’s what makes a flat tire an adventure and not a pain in the ass. it’s what makes life worth living.

the more you appreciate, the more you enjoy life.