A recent article from DailyOM, Empathy in Action discussed another method for practicing gratitude by taking an inventory of your life’s blessings. I tried this once, but then the IRS showed up to audit my accounts, which just made things complicated, and now I have to fill out an additional form when I do my taxes.
The DailyOM suggested a slightly less painful alternative:
consider the ease with which you nourish your body and mind, feed your family, move from place to place, and attend to tasks at hand. For a great number of people, activities you may take for granted, such as attaining an education, buying healthy food, commuting to work, or keeping a clean house, represent great challenges. To experience firsthand the complex tests others face as a matter of course in their daily lives, try living without the amenities you most often take for granted.
From my experience, if you want to try living without the amenities you take for granted, and you decide to sell everything you own on e-bay:
1. Sell your computer last
2. Give the proceeds to charity
3. Move to another country to avoid another governmental audit