We live in a time of great abundance, which is a wonderful thing, and not something to apologize for. That said, we do sometimes lose appreciation for smaller things that remain wonderful. This is a boy who couldn’t get shoes during World War II. Upon finally getting some, his joy overflowed.

People have been making shoes for millennia, of course, but a modern, well-made pair of shoes is indeed a wonder. So are a hundred other things (like year-round supplies of fresh fruit) that many of us take for granted.

Our particular moment upon this planet is far better for goods than it was a thousand years ago, but certainly not nearly as good as it will be a thousand years from now. And while we should keep working toward a better future, we should also appreciate the things we have now… to richly appreciate them. And we should especially appreciate the men and women who discovered how to produce them, taught others, and gifted it all to us.

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Before going back to the mundane, take a look around, wherever you are, and pick out something that makes your life massively better, but that would take you years to develop and create on your own, or even with competent others. Pull appreciation out of yourself; feel it, express it, and remember the feeling. Such upward swellings of the heart are what lift us above mere existence.