Earlier tonight I was reading a blog post by Tim Brownson called Image This.  The post is basically a visualization exercise geared at getting you to take a look at the things that are truly important in life and the things you take for granted.  Well thought out and well written, I recommend it as a read.

So how does Mr. Brownson's visualization exercise relate to Chocolate Chip Pancakes?  For you, it probably doesn't.  For me, reading about how we take things for granted took me back to an experience I had last spring.  (as the non-existent camera blurs and fades to black in flashback-like fashion)

Day 1:

I wake up.  It's Sunday, and I can hear my wife tooling around in the kitchen.  She must have heard me wake because I am quickly greeted by a "Good morning honey".  A moment later I hear "Come and get some chocolate chip pancakes".  I'm out of bed like a flash, with thoughts like:

• 'Chocolate Chip Pancakes!'
• 'Thank you, this was unexpected!'
• 'I am one lucky guy!  I love this woman!'

My thoughts quickly turn to 'Plate, fork, pancakes, chair, mmm...'

Day 2:

It's Monday morning, and I am woken with "Derek, it's time to get up.  Come get some breakfast."  I groggily get up and walk to the kitchen.  When I get there, I am jolted to life like a cartoon character being awoke by a pale of ice water to the face.  CHOCOLATE CHIP PANCAKES AGAIN!  The thoughts flood...

• 'HOLY CRAP!'
• 'She got up early on a workday to make me my favorite breakfast again!'
• 'I am truly the luckiest man on earth!'

Then 'Plate, fork, pancakes, chair, mmm...'

Day 3:

It's Tuesday morning, and I am woken by the alarm.  When I get out to the kitchen, bubbling with anticipation, what do I find?!  An empty stovetop, a box of cereal, and a wife hurrying to get ready for a busy day.  And then come the thoughts:

• 'Where are the chocolate chip pancakes?'
• 'What is she in such a rush for anyway?'
  
• 'I knew this wasn't going to last.'
• etc. etc. etc.

In hindsight, this chain of events (or should I say chain of thoughts) was a huge revelation for me.  I realized that it only took exactly three days for me to lose my gratitude.  I realized that a sense of entitlement can develop towards a new and unexpected pleasure in as little as three days, and that is a scary fact!  When I lose gratitude for the things in my life, it sucks the joy out of the most joyful events. 

So, I just need to stay grateful right?  The tricky part is that life has a way of always keeping it fresh and interesting.  Sure, I'll be well prepared to handle a pancake disappointment in the future, but if the past is any indication of the future, I am pretty sure that this issue will continue to manifest in other ways for the rest of my life.  God knows it has since last spring.  The kicker is that most new manifestations will not become apparent to me until after I've already fallen from gratitude.  I wish I could always anticipate and override defective thinking before it begins to build upon itself, but that doesn't always happen.  That's because I am human.

That being said, the important thing for me to take away from this experience was to always rectify my attitude once I become aware of the fact that it has gone south.  That takes a great deal of honesty and humility, but it is far better than the alternative:  trodding through a painful existence under the veil of ego and the inability to admit my own shortcomings.

What's been on your plate?