Count Your Blessings

The Daily Stoic for May 15th. “Count your blessings”.

“Don’t set your mind on things you don’t possess as if they were yours, but count the blessings you actually possess and think how much you would desire them if they weren’t already yours. But watch yourself, that you don’t value these things to the point of being troubled if you should lose them.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 7.27

There’s an old Spanish saying that affirms “we all want what we don’t have”. There’s much truth in it. We don’t usually appreciate what we already have until we lose it.

It’s then sad how many times we are all in a race to keep up with our neighbors, working mates, or friends. Did he buy the iPhone 8? I’ll have the X. Did he buy the Audi A6? I’ll buy the A8, or better yet, the new Lexus.

Count Your Blessings

I agree with today’s stoic excerpt. We should be more aware of what we already have, and be grateful for it. So I decided to devote a minute today to count them, as the author proposes.

I am grateful, above all, for the person I am, and the man I have become. For accepting myself as I am, which has allowed me to accept others.

I am thankful for being able to share my life with the most amazing person in the world, my husband. And I am glad to live in a place and time where we’ve been able to get married and express our love publicly in front of our family and friends.

Also, I am grateful for having had the courage to quit my job, pursue my dreams, and travel the world as a digital nomad. Obviously, I am grateful too for being able to make a living out of my skills with just a laptop and an internet connection.

Lastly, I am thankful, even with the occasional bad times, to be able to enjoy life and have a beer or a coffee every now and then with the person I love.

Conclusion

Today’s Daily Stoic, “Count your blessings”, reminds us to be grateful for the things we have. That does not mean relying on them for our happiness, but actually being grateful for them.