Simple Appreciation

 We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. How a simple tub of ice can become a place for appreciation and reflection.
 
  I often think about the way of life hundreds of years ago. How simple, but yet how difficult by today's standards. How do we as a society complain when our way of living is interpreted by storms, inconveniences, or just finding our comfort zone replaced by a sudden disaster by what ever means. Our ancestors relied on ingenuity, self preservation and careful planning. A simple thing as ice was such a precious commodity, and ways of preserving it took careful attention and a lot of work. Often times ice structures needed to be built just to be able to have what we today take for granted. I remember seeing at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello a five foot deep cave  in which ice could be preserved into the early summer by adding straw and blankets to help preservation of the cold commodity. Which at this time in history was a sure luxury. At an 1800's ranch in Colorado, an ice house was built just to be able to have ice tea in spring and early summer! The image below is such a structure just to house blocks of ice.

 

 I must be ever mindful of the gifts that I have, and be grateful for all of the simple things that make life convenient, but most of all to be mindful of the needs of others.