Pretending is not just for kids. I would love for you to do this too.  Here’s how it works…

The idea is to pretend you are without something so you take a moment to realize how much it means to you that you actually have it.  Just focusing on one thing each day like this, will ROCK YOUR WORLD!

On Saturday, we lost power(electricity) in the very late afternoon.  Fortunately for us, we had some food on the BBQ and everything that was cooked in the oven was done early.  (Props to me for not procrastinating on prepare dinner!) We had a nice hot meal ready to eat and we were all grateful.  I even texted my parents to come by to share our food as my mom hadn’t yet prepared anything.  And no, it’s not like she was procrastinating!  ha ha  She was on the phone with my great-aunt whom she speaks with only a handful of times a year.  In writing this now, I have come to realize that my phone conversations with many of my friends and family are incredibly sparse in nature.  That is one thing I have to make time for!!  How about you?

As we were enjoying our food and being very grateful, we were discussing if we would rather be without running water or without power?  We are so accustomed to these services being available the majority of the time, that when we suddenly have to manage without, it is truly a big inconvenience.  We took some time here to really assess our needs/wants/desires and trace through a day full of activity with something being missing. It’s a humbling experience which takes “control’ away from us and we have to adapt.  We were busy planning some board games…but when the power went on shortly after, the board game plan disappeared just as quickly as the initial disappearance of our power.

First thing this morning I took some time to imagine not having power in different situations.  Yes, ideally it happens while we sleep and it isn’t too cold out because with no power, we don’t have heat.  But what if we lost power for several days?  Even though it’s warmer now, it’s still an unsettling thought.  Now, I didn’t dwell on the negative aspect of what all “could go wrong”, but instead moved through my activities being mindful of what I was doing that required power.  It’s more than I would have guessed prior to this little “experiment”!!

Try it out yourself!  How often do you utilize water in your day?  Or your car?  Or your cellphone??  Just pay attention through the day and each time you recognize this, stop for a second and be grateful.