Have we lost gratitude in a Modern Age?

A "baba" clearing sidewalks with our standard "reed" broom.

In the modern era of labor-saving devices, fast-food, and pre-made things, it's very easy for people in the "West," especially in North America and Down Under to forget how fortunate they are to have so many things which make life easier, which most people in the world do not have...

When was the last time you were consciously thankful for your everyday modern conveniences like electricity, indoor plumbing, hot & cold running water, washing machine & dryer, refrigerator, freezer, vacuum cleaners, indoor climate control, roomy quarters, personal car, stable, high-speed internet, modern health care, etc.? So many who live outside of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the USA do not have most or any of these things.

Take, for example, my friends who live in villages just outside my city. They do not have indoor toilets, showers, washing machines (no one here has a dryer - what is it?!), hot water (except what is heated on the stove), internet, gas, modern heating, etc. And then I think of most of my city friends, who are fortunate if they do not have to share a tiny flat with 4 generations of family or if they do not have to live with their entire family in a small 1-room flat (whose main room is only 3 meters by 4 meters). And none \have climate-control, adequate storage space, roomy living spaces, etc. And yet, this is modern life in most of the world...

And as for food, in most of the world there is no such thing as pre-cooked meals which only need to be microwaved and, voila, dinner is served with a very bare minimum of effort. Nor are there large refrigerators and freezers or cupboards in which to hoard months worth of food (and then throw out a lot b/c it spoiled before one could eat it). Nor do most have personal cars with which to transport said groceries, so they must lug them by foot from the store. Instead, people shop every day or every other day for the food they need and have to make everything from scratch, the old-fashioned way (and no, Americans, cooking from scratch does not mean from a box-mix, can, or packet - LOL!). Food is very fresh (which is great for one's health) and spoils quickly, so it is not hoarded away for convenience's sake. Most everyone knows how to really cook, using fresh ingredients, and thinks most Westerners have no clue about real cooking, with their pre-packaged, canned, boxed lives.

So, the next time you get the urge to complain about standing in line, or having to heat up a pre-made meal, or doing a mountain of laundry, or having to go shopping in your car, or the thermostat being a tad too cold, or having to get gas in your personal car, or the slightly slow high-speed internet connection, or having only 1 spare room instead of 2 or 3, or having to clean the toilet or shower, vacuuming carpets (with a vacuum that actually sucks up dirt w/o breaking a sweat and spending an hour on a single carpet!), etc., think about just how many wonderful, modern, life-easing conveniences you experience every day and how the most of the rest of the world does not have any of these.

A good way to cultivate gratitude in the modern age is to be consciously thankful for your every day conveniences. So, the next time you you take a shower, use a microwave, drive a car, do laundry in a machine, save time/energy by cooking something from a can, box, or bag, use the internet, clean the house, take time to be thankful that you have these things and that as a result, your life is much easier than most of the other millions of people on this planet... If you start to do this, you may just be surprised at how much more you learn to appreciate the labor-saving things in life that most people who have them, unfortunately, take for granted. :)