One of the biggest life lessons that has come out of Covid is the realization of the fact that we have been taking our lives for granted.
Medical treatments. Toilet paper. Soap. I use to lather in the shower like soap was falling with rain.
Even now, there are still half empty shelves at supermarkets. I remember when there was only excess. Modern living has made life pretty easy to survive. Do we ever stop and just say a 'thank you' to the universe? I didn't. I try to now.
Redditoru/dd28064212wanted to compile a list of all the things we're lucky to have, and need to be grateful for, by asking:
What's a modern world luxury that we take for granted on a daily basis?
Just having a home is a modern luxury I've come to appreciate. People use to live in the wilderness. And now some people are forced to live in the street. A roof has definitely become a hot commodity. Which is sad.
And Papaya?
Hazel English Food GIF by Polyvinyl RecordsGiphy"The fact that I can get mangoes in Missouri in the middle of the winter is pretty cool."
- Clintman
"This is something that's not even common across the world. I hadn't given it much thought until I moved overseas and could only get stuff when it was in season."
- alexrt87
"simple"
"Running water."
"This! People don't realize how cool it is to have running water. They didn't have to go to a well with buckets and then carry them home."
"Technically, running water was more or less a thing before the modern world in some parts of the world, like the "simple" aqueduct in the roman empire. I think I read somewhere that some ME empire also had a more or less domestic running water system since the middle ages. but that's to fact check."
Connections
"Internet."
- dpmoeni
"The fact that most people in the world possess a device which can communicate with anyone else on the planet in real-time, while also having instant access to basically the entirety of human knowledge, and that device has its own power source and fits in a pocket, is absolutely astounding."
Temp Control
"Heating & cooling, life is so much more comfortable with the ability to change the temperature."
"Ancient civilizations did actually have temperature control techniques albeit not machines that pump air that is cooled and circulated throughout a structure. The old methods were done through architecture though Egyptians we're known to hang wet reeds outside of their windows."
Red all Year
happy homer simpson GIFGiphy"You can eat tomato every month of the year coming from everywhere in the world thanks to refrigeration, greenhouses (EDIT) and conservation techniques (pasteurisation for example)."
I love tomatoes. It's good to know I will never got without. Water. Everyone should have access to clean water. What a travesty.
Good Story
Spongebob Squarepants Popcorn GIFGiphy"This is a small one but continuity in shows. Up until about 20 years ago, most shows were heavily episodic and had little to no plot carry over. It was a rarity when an episode ended without reestablishing the status quo."
- BW_Bird
People
"The majority of human knowledge, freely available in easy-to-search formats."
- zenyl
"This is really the thing that would make me apprehensive if I had the choice of "living in the 80s as the richest man in the world". I just love the internet too much. I wanna lay in bed and watch documentaries."
Covid taught Us
"Toilet paper. It is just another thing we never think about until you're stuck with a poopy butt, scrolling Reddit while waiting for someone to bring you some since you forgot to get some from the garage."
"This is the first thing I thought of. I worked at a place that did not provide toilet paper; everyone had to bring their own and NOBODY shared. One day I was out of TP while in the restroom. I remember how gross and helpless I felt. Luckily I found some old Arby's coupons to wipe with. Don't take TP for granted!"
All Day and Night
"24/7 Entertainment. There are new TV shows, movies, shows, concerts, books, etc. popping up all the time, we have access to a wider range of diverse performances, stuff that past kings and emperors would have taken for wizardry. When I was a kid, there were some TV channels that stopped broadcasting anything at all after a certain hour. Now, TV is non stop. You can see shows and sports competition from the other side of the planet. And we still find a way to occasionally get bored."
Head Stuff
Odontologo Dentistas GIF by Clínicas Dentales Dra CarballoGiphy"Dental care. It wasn't that long ago that it was a sign of wealth to have had all of your teeth removed and own multiple sets of dentures (e.g. a set for eating, a different set for when you weren't)."
Dental care should be part of the healthcare system that is open to all. It's vital to life. Be more grateful kids, you never know when everything you have could vanish.
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Redditor Isingsongstomycats wanted to hear about what can completely make us regret speaking to another person, so they asked:
"What instantly ruins a conversation for you?"
I'm ornery. Anything and everything can turn me off.
Blocked
honey boo boo phone GIF by RealityTVGIFsGiphy"Getting their phone out for no reason mid conversation."
Expensive_Pie_6943
"Sometimes I want to look up something pertinent to the conversation but I don't want to interrupt them to say that. Now when someone checks their notification mid conversation, that really burns me."
cutelyaware
Up & Up
"When someone feels the need to one up you on everything you say."
Apprehensive_Gap_368
"Had a coworker like this once, his one upping was so bad we would test it. Best one was a guy talking about catching a shark on a pole at the beach. He interrupted with the time he swam out a mile and got attacked by a shark and beat it and swam back with it."
Mess_Bubbly
Rude
"When they start saying nasty things about people they barely know."
WeirdShyKitten
"I have family like this. I once heard them go on on this rant about how the new waitress at their local coffee shop is fat and ugly. They made a thousands assumptions about this woman that included criticism to her service."
18062022
"Or start sh*t talking someone the second they leave the room. My dad's sisters do that, I was stuck in my parents house alone with them and I would get so paranoid every time I left the room. If they do that to each other, I can’t image the crap they talk about me."
vicki_chicki
War of Words
"When they ask for your opinion or talking about something fully subjective and then tell you how you are objectively wrong or get offended by you nor agreeing."
Prize_Interaction931
"Similar, but not quite the same: my old roommate would correct me on things that were objective, and not like facts."
"Like I mentioned it was hard for my folks to get a mortgage because they were self employed and he correct me that it wasn't. He wouldn't believe the story i was telling and told me what he thought might have happened with no knowledge on the subject."
"Needless to say I moved out."
SFXBTPD
Blah Blah
Bored Chris Rock GIF by BounceGiphy"When it feels like you're engaging a combination lock just to get responses to simple innocent pieces of a conversation. People who small talk you to death."
I swear small talk people should be arrested for attempted murder.
Useless
Golden Girls Rose GIF by TV LandGiphy"When someone drags a story out with useless details. Like something that happened on the drive to work but they start the story at the point when they first woke up and what they had for breakfast. Just get to the point!"
ticklemebits
Paused
"When they interrupt me mid sentence."
HelpMeSweetJesus
"If it sometimes happens on accident whenever they think of something and get over-excited it’s whatevs. Now when they constantly step over you it’s like your opinion merely feels like filler at best and they ain’t even listening. Not even worth the energy to continue at that point."
BAKED_TATER_
"One of my coworkers only listens long enough to figure out what she's going to say next, and then she interrupts. I guess we're only there to feed her lines."
Witty_Commentator
Do Better
"When someone gives you completely useless advice you didn't ask for. A couple weeks ago I mentioned to a coworker that I was glad to be going home because I didn't get more than a couple hours of sleep."
"Dude first of all had the audacity to say 'Well, you need to do better.' When I said I have medication resistant insomnia he looks at me like I'm an idiot and asks if I've tried melatonin."
errant_night
Duh
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are stupider than that. And it doesn’t take you very long to spot one of them, does it. Take you about eight seconds. You’ll be listening to some guy, and say, this guy is f**king stupid. Then, then there are some people, they’re not stupid. They’re full of crap."
"Huh, that doesn’t take very long to spot, either, does it. Take you about the same amount of time. You’ll be listening to some guy, saying, well, he’s fairly intelligent. Ah, he’s full of s**t. Then there are some people, they’re not stupid, they’re not full of s**t, they’re freaking nuts."
teaching-man
Gross...
Disgusted Emma Stone GIFGiphy"Sexualization. We're talking about a new video game and suddenly I get asked if I play naked, or if I'm turned on by a game mechanic or some such nonsense. Yuck."
GreenAppleLady
Good conversation is hard to keep these days.
Do you have any conversational red flags to add? Let us know in the comments below.
