I’m sure everyone has heard of that old adage, you never know what you have until it’s gone.
Essentially, you don’t feel grateful for the things in your life until they are missing.
This has to be a universal trait of humanity. It’s way too easy to be absorbed in the things that to you don’t have or the things that are stressing you out, and to completely overlook the things that you should appreciate. I, for one, am extremely guilty of behaving this way. I have a tendency to get stressed out and overwhelmed, at which point I don’t see the light in anything around me. Oftentimes, it’s not until I’ve completely lost someone or something that I realize how much they meant to my life. Recently, this is how I’ve been feeling about my old forced air furnace. I never thought that I cared for this heating device whatsoever. For as long as I could remember, this stupid central heater was providing uneven hot and cold air temperature throughout my home and generally driving me crazy. I felt like I constantly had to change out the air filters, arrange professional heating, cooling, and ventilation appointments, and re-light the pilot when it would inevitably go out. In fact, I swear that I’ve cursed this furnace more than I’ve swore about my ex-girlfriend. The thing is, when my old furnace finally failed on me, I realized exactly how much it meant to my life. These days, I miss my furnace dearly. I miss hearing it running all day long. I miss the gentle background home of the ancient equipment. Now, my new furnace is running silently in the background, and my house feels completely empty.