"Moma Said!"

I remember when I was just a little girl about the tender age of eight. I told my mother all the wonderful toys and things that my friends in school had and that I didn't have anything?

My mother looked at me, and she said, "You should be thanking God that you have your five senses, your hands and legs, and you are in good health. And you don't have anything? So, which do you prefer, your five senses, with working bodies parts or all the toys that your friends in school have, you decide."

I opened my mouth to speak and I thought, "What kind of fairy tale question is that to ask? My mother said, "Think before you speak." I meditated on what my mother had said while my mouth was still opened. I thought to myself that they too had their five senses, hands and legs, and were in good health. I politely closed my mouth and walked quietly away from my mother with my head held down.

Until this day, I don't worry about who have what, and if I have to give something up, it's gone. Appreciation goes a long way then any of us could imagine.