One of the things you get very quickly living around the world is that not every country´s standards are the same. Having lived in countries where hot water coming out of the shower every morning was NOT the norm, there isn´t a day here in Sedona that I don´t have my shower and feel overwhelming gratitude for the amount of water, the pressure of the water and the fact that I have hot water!

It´s easy to take things for granted but it will help you create a more amazing life for yourself, no matter where you are, if you start feeling gratitude for even the little things in life.

In Mexico, despite the fact that I was living in a condo that sold for $750,000.00 US dollars (yes, you read right!), hot water, consistent temperatures and water pressure were definitely not taken for granted. Either was the shower door actually keeping the water inside the shower stall! And believe it or not, there was no bathtub for that price! We would have to run the water in the kitchen sink, wait for the water heaters to come on and then wait more time for the hot water to hit the back bathroom. I literally could make my bed and brush my teeth before I had hot water. Then you had no idea if that hot water was going to last your entire shower either!

In Ecuador we had what they called an “electrocuter” which literally heated the water as it went through the shower head. One time while shaving my armpit, I hit the shower head with my outstretched arm and got a nice jolt! I´ll also ever forget the bed and breakfast in Scotland when the water in the shower down the hall from our room went freezing cold and I ran through the B & B with a towel wrapped around me.

In South Africa, you definitely checked that there weren´t anything creepy or crawly in the shower with you. In Japan, I experienced the excrutiatingly hot bath water but also the fact that the bath water was shared in the family due to their customs and cultures. You got out of the bath and covered it with a pool-type cover for the next person.

Are you going to look at your morning shower or luxurious evening bath the same way? I hope not! I know that these experiences have taken my appreciation for what many people living in North America take for granted to whole new levels and for that I am grateful.

Some of the beautiful red rock formations

My good friend Brenda arrived in Sedona last night. We had a wonderful dinner out overlooking the red rocks of Sedona and then were up early this morning and at our hike by 8:15. Six hours later, we got back to the car, dirty, wet, exhausted and inspired.

We hiked the West Fork Trail, also called Call of the Canyon, considered to be one of the most beautiful hikes in Arizona. We traversed the creek several times, passed through what looked like a bamboo forest, were surrounded by magnificent red rocks and finally waded sometimes up to my hips in very cold water till we reached a large shallow lake. All in all, it was a 7 mile hike and considering the temperatures were around 100 degrees or so, that´s an accomplishment.

As Brenda and I gasped, marveled and had our breath taken away so many times today, we were truly grateful moment by moment for the amazing life we have both created. While so many people were doing jobs they hated, in climate they don´t like, in a lifestyle that is hardly inspiring, we were in the some of the most stunning scenery in the world, with not a care in the world.

It was truly a day of great exercise, but more than anything a day of real gratitude for the blessings we enjoy. Go create your amazing life!