It is Thankful Thursday; a day I set aside to write about what I am thankful for. Throughout each day I think express gratitude for what I am thankful for as I encounter each moment. When looking at life with a grateful eye, you have little time to think about what you do not enjoy or what you hate; comparing yourself to others is no longer a concern and allow you to be more fully in the moment.
Earlier this week I took a sip of bottled water and thought, “I am thankful for water.” I currently live in Los Angeles, which is in a drought. Daily, the city is advised on several occasions to be mindful of our water usage. I have become mindful of how long I take a shower, I don’t leave the faucet running and I make sure I completely turn the faucet off. At restaurants when I am given water, I make sure I drink the entire glass, even if I am full, because I don’t want it to go to waste. Once upon a time I wasn’t always this mindful. The fact that the city I live in may loose this life sustaining resource has deepened my appreciation for it. I cringe at the ways our culture has grown accustom to having easy access to clean water and how often we don’t think of what a luxury it is that we can turn on a faucet, versus walking miles to a well or lake to get our water. We don’t have to sanitize our water, because we have companies that do that for us.
The things that I have been thankful for in recent weeks are basic. People often want to think of the grand things that they are thankful for, but it is the basic parts of our life that deserve more credit. These basic things make the rest of our lives possible. What is something basic that you are thankful for?
Illuminated Voice 
Thank you for sharing. I am also thankful for my body and the fact that it functions fully.
What am I thankful for? That is a heavy question. At first you might think, “oh, that is easy…” but if you give yourself time to really think about it, thankfulness is one of those emotions that can bring you to tears with happiness, or with sorrow. It can take your breath way or leave you empty handed if take advantage of. So what am I thankful for? So many things but like you point out in this post, the simple things are the ones we take for granted; the pumping of your heart, the brain synapses firing, your muscles reacting. This vessel I inhabit, that is something I am truly thankful for.