Grateful for History

History.
History is a funny thing.
We are born into it -- before us there was this stuff, and then we were born and we just overlooked the fact that everything's been done for us already. We don't have to learn how to build a house, how to even make a fire (no, the thermostat has already evolved to its current state where you push a button and your house is warm). We don't have to learn how to build a computer to use one. It's all there! Everything we use has a past -- a long one at that -- and without people sitting there, coming up with the idea, having the will power to get up and get it all figured out, taking the time and effort to make these things come to life, you and I would not be surrounded by much. Thousands of years were strung together to make today happen. People built towns, they built roads and built cars for those roads.

I am so grateful for it all! Life is beautiful, luxurious, comfortable -- I barely have to lift a finger. With our kind of society, I get to go to work and make money so that I may go home and do my art, and to have the time to go to school and learn new skills. The exchange of labor for other necessities is crucial to our development as "evolving" human beings. There would not be much time to develop the artist within if we had to take care of hunting and gathering our food, building our shelter, taking care of the kids and the community and getting all of our basic needs met in the longest way possible. We've shortened the amount of time it takes to get things done, and as much as this has its down sides, it's also brilliant and amazing. Cherish it. Think about it -- you don't have time to cook so you go to the store or the restaurant and you buy pre-made food! Where in the world did this food come from and how long did it take to make it there? Think about each ingredient that was grown in someone's garden, and then cultivated, shipped off, processed, packaged, shipped off, and then landed in your market. Then think of how you've got a job to make the money to purchase this good. MIND BLOWN! It's this beautiful orchestra, where everything aligns and fits together so smoothly that we can have free time.

Take notice of your predecessors. Thank them. Love them for having come along before you and having the hardships and victories so you could live this kind of life.

Also, think about how you will be changing the world for the next generation, the next person who walks into your world and crosses your path. It's immediate. Everything you do reflects outwards and changes other's lives. We share this place with billions of other souls who will either benefit or suffer from our actions.

What will you leave behind?