Gratitude

As most of you readers who have followed our blog know, Eric and I just returned from a wonderful cruise in the western Caribbean. It was wonderful and magical and we’ll be talking about it for months. We had cold drinks under the hot sun; we swam in pools at the back of a cruise ship, and in the ocean with 300 pound terrapin; we wiggled our toes in the sands of five different countries; we met people from all around the world. It was amazing and I can’t wait to share all of the details of it with you, but today I want to talk about a topic that’s been very important to me since I stepped off the boat and back into my life on dry land: gratitude.

While we were on the cruise, I confess that Eric and I were not as amazed as we thought we’d be. We’d taken a Carnival cruise impulsively when we found cheap tickets back in February and we thought that a planned out MSC cruise that was a bit more expensive would really blow our minds. We were a bit disappointed to find that the food was sub-par, the drinks were sometimes boring, the shows were ghastly, and the design of the boat failed to account for the massive herds of people. We went to dinner one night a bit disgruntled that we’d spent more money on something that turned out to be a lesser experience perhaps than our first cruise.

In the dining room on these ships, you are seated with a table of strangers- this cuts down on waiting times, but forces you to sit with strangers (and who knows if you’ll get along or not). Fortunately, our table wasn’t packed full and we were seated with only one other couple from Charleston, South Carolina. The couple had dated for years and had actually assumed that Eric and I were married before we corrected them! Each of them had, at one point in time, worked for MSC and the two were enjoying a cruise with the company they’d intimately known for so long.

They mentioned something irksome about the dining experience in the buffet and we agreed: “yes! There isn’t enough seating in there! We had to hunt for twenty minutes to find seating for two people!” That one complaint triggered a barrage of others from us, all small, petty details of the cruise that just didn’t measure up to our expectations. They could certainly tell we’d been let down by the company, and the quiet gentleman in the couple nodded in understanding before continuing.

He told us he agreed: some of these details and frustrations bothered them too. But he looked over at his girlfriend and smiled a comfortable, warm smile of contentment and said, “we’re just blessed to have this time together, seeing the world and having time away from the stress of normal life. I’ll be talking about this for the rest of my life.”

With that comment, I turned to Eric and he looked back at me. We smiled that same warm and comfortable smile at each other, seeming to converse in our thoughts. “What are we doing?” we silently questioned each other, “we are beyond lucky to be able to be here, even if it’s not what we expected.” We flagged down our waiter and ordered the couple drinks for grounding our perspective. For the rest of the cruise, we did our best to overlook the frustrations of overcrowding and poor organization in efforts to appreciate where we were, what we were doing, and all the privileges we had.

Now, I realize you probably are reading this thinking, “what spoiled brats! Their CRUISE wasn’t good enough for them?!” Okay, okay, we know. We realized how we were thinking and made a conscious decision to change that thinking. Throughout the rest of the trip, we were grateful for each and every little thing: starry nights and the sounds of lapping waves, even if they were intermingled with screaming drunks on the boat; being able to be one of the first off the boat when the cruise ended, though it meant getting up at 5:30 a.m.; being able to visit the best beach in the United States on our way home, though I felt sick the whole time; being able to drive home, though it made me sleepy to be behind the wheel for six hours of the day. Really, I was grateful that I was able to do anything- just to be here, to be alive, to be with someone I love who loves me… those things alone were enough to be grateful for, and I had so much more.

I got home and thanked my mom for the hand-me-down swimsuit cover up that wound up being my favorite on the trip. I thanked her also for loaning us her car for the long drive by filling up the tank and washing the car. I thanked my dad for the birthday gift that allowed Eric and I to get some small souvenirs in other countries. I thanked Eric for helping me unpack my bags when I felt exhausted. I was filled with thanks.

My question to you is: when was the last time your privilege was put into perspective? Maybe you haven’t been on a cruise lately, but I’m sure you have privilege to speak of. You’re sitting at your nice computer or on a nice phone and reading this right now, aren’t you? Either you have free time to do so, or a relaxed enough job that permits such an ability. You are reading blogs and not looking for food or shelter or a job, so you must be at least modestly privileged.

We all have so much to be grateful for, and the daily grind of everyday life can make us forget to actually appreciate it. But I urge you to sit back in your seat and look around you- really look. What are you grateful for, because there is so much to be grateful for! If you can thank someone, do it! It costs you nothing and it boosts someone else’s day so much- and, whether you realize it or not, it will make you feel better too to give those thanks to someone.

Remember all that you have to be grateful for, whether big or small. Sure, I am absolutely and 100% grateful for my cruise and snorkeling and tasty drinks; but I think I’m even more grateful for my health, my family, my puppy, my boyfriend who loves me (almost as much as I love him), my fortunate situation, and the bright future ahead of us. I encourage you to comment on our page and say aloud what you are grateful for. Thank someone as genuinely as you can at least a couple times every day. It will make the world a brighter place and improve your outlook on life because, as our friend from dinner said, “we’re just blessed to have this time together.”