I am back after a bit of a hiatus from writing. And I am here today to share with you one lesson my life has taught me.

I have been blessed to be able to travel so much around the world over the last few years, and this helped me to gain some insightful thoughts about myself, others and life. One of the most profound things I witnessed was how much we take for granted.

While I was studying English in South Africa, I did not want to be a furiously-picture-snapping tourist; I wanted to be a traveler who goes deeper and makes an effort to understand and honor the culture and not just obey what the tour guide says to do. So, I decided to take the plunge to explore poverty-stricken areas in Cape Town. I knew that I was about to dive into the rabbit hole. I visited some townships built on the edge of the city, lacking life essentials like sanitation, electricity, paved roads and clean water.

I went through the alleys of the slums where people walk around without shoes or jackets in the freezing cold. Life is the battle they fight every day to survive and feed their hunger. Their homes are made of corrugated iron and any materials they find to shelter them from rain, heat, and other adverse conditions.

In spite of this harsh life, they manage to keep their smiles up, offer tourists a cup of tea and be kind with each other. They don’t have the wealth and the means that we have. Instead, they appreciate what they have, are generous despite their limited means, and have sense of humor. If they have to live without these spirituals and those who love and care about them, that would be the poverty they would fear the most. Money and materialistic things are so irrelevant to their happiness.

This taught me to value the blessings that I have and not to take them for granted, to be simple, less materialistic, and more importantly be HAPPY.

Be grateful for everything you have. Count your blessings and count them again because I am pretty sure you will forget at least two.

Good Night :)

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