Living with Gratitude

I saw this post entitled Living with Gratitude by Randy Gage and it reminded me of this story I heard from my cousin a few weeks ago.

Cousin had brought her kid(s) to the local government hospital for a check up and whilst waiting for their turn, she went to the hospital canteen to grab a bite to eat.  She ordered a plate of fried noodles and it cost her RM4.50 - which was reasonable, she thought.  Then she sat at this table next to a family of 4 or 5.  They too had ordered the same plate of fried noodles.  But they were sharing the one plate amongst them.  Cousin then overheard them talking.  They were trying to figure out if they had enough money left for their bus fare back to their kampung.

I didn't realise this story affected me so much until I retold it to my husband and I ended up wiping off some tears.  How petty and silly do our own little problems seem when you hear that there are people who are going through that kind of situation.  Some people are buying designers goods, handbags and purses that cost thousands at a time and yet there are people who can't afford one meal.  How sad is that.  And whilst we are merrily enjoying our days here, people in Japan and Christchurch are dealing with such unimaginable loss.  How can we not be grateful?

What are you grateful for today?