The Danger of Taking Things for Granted The Official Cambridge Dictionary defines the act of taking things for granted as “ never thinking about something because it’s believed that it will always be available or stay exactly the same.” By taking something for granted, a person is underestimating its importance in their lives. Society may not understand this, but they are actually devaluing the objects they possess that are important and they are keeping themselves from enjoying the things in their life to the fullest extent. Because a majority of America’s population believes that they are entitled to their belongings, they develop a dependency for that item and comfort in thinking that that item will always be available to them. This mindset …show more content…
Society is prone to viewing their things as something that will always be there with them because this takes their mind off of worrying about their things. Because taking things for granted takes less effort and is easier “[people] do it, especially for things that seem everlasting like their health, their family, and even life in general. The presence of those things is usually steady and dependable, and because of this, they start to blend into the backdrop of [people’s] daily lives. Those things have been there for a long time, so [people] assume those things will always be there” (Jon 2). It is easier to not have to constantly worry about losing something important. It is like when a child gets a new toy and plays with it nonstop for a week. Once the child becomes accustomed to having the toy around them, they forget about playing with it and move on to something else because as far as the child knows, the toy will always be there if they ever wanted to play with it again. When the parent finds the toy lying at the bottom of the child's toy chest untouched and decides to get rid of it, the child begins to say things like, “No, don’t get rid of it. I promise I will play with it.” The child starts worrying about their precious toy being taken away and …show more content…
Essentially, by taking things for granted it “yanks [people] out of the present moment and sabotages [their] enjoyment, [their] attention is placed elsewhere and [their] experiences are dulled” (Chelsea). People’s experiences and moments with those around them is what shapes everything in their lives. Once something or a loved one is gone, all most do is yearn for another moment with it. They immediately begin to regret all the times they should have appreciated and cared for them but they didn’t. As long as humans continue to take things for granted, “the mindset can lead [people] to behave in careless ways, to mistreat the people [they] care about, and to fail to say or do what is really in [their] hearts” (Breines 1). As simple as it is, believing something will last forever can only lead to terrible afterthoughts and experiences. Instead of living in the moment, people’s lives would be filled with regret. Life would leave them constantly thinking about the things they should have done instead of the things they already achieved with their valued belongings. In order for people to stop regretting their lives, it is essential to find a way to stop themselves from falling into the mindset again and continue taking things for
Humans are born with pursuits: some search for fame, some go after money, some seek achievements in professional fields, and some only wish their lives to be content . If one wants to become content with life, one should alter one’s old ways of living and embrace new things. Both in Cathy Jewison’s The Prospector’s Trail and Eva Lis Wuorio’s The Singing Silence, the main characters used to be dissatisfied with life. In search for true happiness, they begin to try things that they have never experienced before. At the end, the two protagonists find that their new activities can bring them happiness, and they start to live satisfying lives.
Many of us might not realize what we take for granted until we all lose it. And once we do we gain new perspective on life. The perspective of doing something now so later you wont wonder what if, and that to be is the most life changing thing a person can
I think that what the author was trying to imply in this passage was that in his personal experience, he has noticed that many people take many things for granted and that they don’t live their lives according to what they want and need to do. So much is wasted during one’s lifetime, and people just allow their lives to pass them by.
If I got lost in a desolate desert, I would survive because I value things that are essential and beneficial for survival. King Tut would have died if he got lost because he values items like gold and jewelry, whereas I bring the essentials. This is a good habit because money does not bring happiness into anyone’s life. It is the moments that they spend with their family that bring true happiness into their lives. When people value material possessions greater than their own or their family survival won’t live a happy life.
One reason is because people are scared of ideas they think are realistic. In movies about possession, those who believe in such are terrified because it could happen to them. They believe anyone has the ability to be evil, but good (or God) triumphs. Fear put onto us based on societal views, or sociophobes have a significance in this chapter. There three main ones: invasion, inversion, and irrelevance. Invasion is the fear of order falling apart, and connects with cosmology. Even if people are told the truth about a new discovery, they could still fall back into the lie because it’s safer to them. Inversion depicts sacred places as unsafe or unholy places to be. Irrelevance is the ide God isn’t around or can see us suffering but just watches us suffer. This ties with theodicy, where evil exists, and people question how a God (or good) also exist. (UPRC 65-67). Within all these sociophobes, we show understanding about certain people’s ideas, but it doesn’t throw away morals or
There is a phrase that people here time and time again, but don’t truly understand the meaning of it until the phrase can be applied to their own lives. “You don’t realize what you have until it’s gone.” Atwood’s poem is a direct reflection of this quote. Her poem “Bored” talks about how she hated the repetitiveness of her daily events with her father. But it was only until he had passed on was it that she truly did realize how much she missed those daily events. Sometimes people don’t understand how important others mean to them until it is too late.
...tive occurrences in life, and even manage to derive some positives from such experiences. Those who argue against this concept do it on a basic level, without truly understanding the impact of eternal recurrence on a free spirit. Such arguments are made on a surface interpretation, without taking into account; the fact that such an approach involves a person’s every move throughout their life, as they seek to achieve the most fulfilling life experience, regardless of wealth or social status. In the end, the adoption of such an approach depends on personal perception, because some people might view the opportunity to relive every moment of their lives as an opportunity not to be missed, while others might view it as an unnecessary burden.
Many people take life for granted every day. Many of the characters in the stories we have read often do this. In “The Necklace”, Mathilda does this by always thinking of herself and nobody else. My Left Foot shows how Christy Brown never takes his life for granted, and by doing this it helped him overcome his disabilities. In the story Our Town not taking life for granted is one of the main themes, such as when Emily dies and George becomes very upset about it.
In order to do this we need to have responsibility for our possessions. They are ours, they have value, whether sentimental or monetary, and it is our job to take care of them. If we do not, then our hard earned money has gone to waste or our memories that were attached to it, are simply only alive in our minds. Having things to take care of helps us to have a sense of purpose in life, and teaches us responsibility to care for what is ours. Both important virtues that help us grow and discover ourselves when we have tangible objects that belong to and are cared for by
...are rather very cheap sometimes, they usually contain commercial and mass produced items that aren’t unique and anyone can have. From worthless items people can build a value that essentially covers up the underlying problem but by finding satisfaction in that illogical idea gives them a comfort zone for a limited amount of time till they find a better item to put their importance in. This phenomenon itself on its own creates a chase, chase after the everlasting circle of materialism. The distinguished grasping item is then given to Billy and he tries to compose a purpose of life out of it as well. “And the crucifix went up on the wall of Billy Pilgrim” (Vonnegut 39) Even though it meant valuable to Bill’s mother, she doesn’t keep it. Billy doesn’t care much about it because he isn’t so religious and this item that mattered so much once has become a piece of scrap.
The deprivation of these things that we learn to appreciate is a misfortune, because we have learned to live with these privileges. It is unfathomable for a human being to grasp the concept of a finite life, in the truest meaning of understanding. We do not think of our lives right now as a set out plan or a finite sequence of events. We do not live day to day thinking of what we should do according to how much time we have left. Our lives are essentially an open-ended sequence of good and bad circumstances and possibilities. Death is the abrupt interruption of this sequence that we cannot help but be in the mindset will never end. This is how death is a deprivation, and ultimately, a bad thing for a
Opening Question: Life is short, so why do people tend to focus on the unnecessary details within their lives?
take what we have for granted and don't understand how bad it really is in some other parts of
In life, many things are taken for granted on a customary basis. For example, we wake up in the morning and routinely expect to see and hear from certain people. Most people live daily life with the unsighted notion that every important individual in their lives at the moment, will exist there tomorrow. However, in actuality, such is not the case. I too fell victim to the routine familiarity of expectation, until the day reality taught me otherwise.
Characteristic of a Type A personality, I would describe myself as someone who is a