What do we count as a blessing? When we think about it, we usually count on things like having a good family, a decent and well-paying job, a beautiful home to live in, good friends, never to have to stay hungry, getting good education and the list goes on.

But have you ever thought about the little things in life, that is also a form of blessing? Little things like being able to sleep at night, waking up in the morning, being able to see the beautiful nature we are surrounded with, being able to eat with our own hands, being able to walk around all by ourselves, such everyday things that we take for granted so easily. We don’t ever consider these as a blessing, it’s like it is a part of life. Does everybody in this world have these blessings that we overlook every day? Do we ever thank God for these blessings? And if you think about it, these are the greatest blessings among all other things which we actually consider as a blessing. These are the things that actually matters the most in life.

Imagine having to live without even 1 of these blessings, which we sort of consider to be our birth right, being born as a human. These are the blessings we should value the most in life, without which, none of the things that we usually count as blessings, would mean the same ever.

I realized this recently when I became deprived of one such blessing (which till now I had never ever realized to be such a great blessing and that I was the luckiest to have been granted it), i.e. being able to sleep at night. Yes, this may sound so inconsequential as compared to any other much-needed blessings, like having good eyesight, hands and legs, good health, as I had mentioned earlier, but believe me, sleep is as important a blessing as any other.

I was always the one who was considered to be able to sleep anywhere and at any time. Nothing could prevent me from falling asleep, be it people talking around me, television blaring, and music being played in full volume, all the lights on, be it a moving car or a plane, just nothing. It was so obvious, that all my friends and family members often used to joke about it.

It was to such an extent that even during night-outs with my girlfriends, after all the partying, as we would sit down and start chit-chatting among ourselves till late at night (thing that we girls love the most), I would be the only one dozing off sitting right there in the middle of the group.

Sometimes it would also lead me to embarrassing situations when I would fall asleep in-between of a family gathering, or worst of all, between boring office meetings. My friends in office would often make videos of me dozing off sitting at my seat, and would use it to embarrass me later at several occasions (yes, we all know that’s what friends are good at ;) They love you, care for you, but wouldn’t miss the slightest opportunity to embarrass you).

I would listen to so many people complain about not being able to sleep; some would require complete silence, some required the room to be completely dark to be able to sleep. I have even know few people who could only get sleep on their usual bed, any change in location or bed would result to them not being able to get sleep at all. It was always little difficult for me to understand how these things could deprive a person of sleep. Sleep, according to me, seemed to be something so easy; it didn’t require any effort at all. It would just come so naturally to me. I would boast about it to the whole world, until the day I faced it the very first time.

It started around a year back. It had been a day like any other, with me getting up in the morning, getting ready for my work, spending the usual 9 hours working at office, then coming back home, eating, watching some television and finally retiring for the day. But this night was different. I had been lying awake in my bed for a long time waiting to fall asleep, but I just couldn’t. I tried everything I had heard of, which usually would help one in falling asleep; things like counting 1 to 100 and then back in the reverse order in my mind, focusing on the circular movement of the ceiling fan, taking deep breaths to calm my mind, but nothing seemed to help at all. I couldn’t believe it at first that this was actually happening to me. I had been lying for hours now with my eyes closed, but I just couldn’t fall asleep. The night seemed to be never-ending. Finally, after what seemed like ages, it was dawn. Being tired of lying awake for so long, I finally gave up on sleep and started my day early.

Having office throughout the day I didn’t have any time to sleep during the day, but in a way I thought that would be helpful as then I was sure to fall asleep real quickly at night, since I would be so sleep deprived by then. But God had other plans for me. It was the same nightmare for the next 2-3 nights. I had hardly been able to catch a maximum of 2-3 hours of sleep in total, in almost 3 days in a row now. I was mentally and physically exhausted. I couldn’t concentrate on anything due to lack of sleep and it started taking a toll on my health. I started getting scared of night, thinking of how I was going to pass the entire night yet again.

Finally, on the fourth day I consulted a Psychiatrist who prescribed me sleeping pills for a few days. I had never thought that I would ever require sleeping pills to fall asleep. I was taken aback. It was then that I realized how great a blessing it was that I had, but I never had considered it to be a blessing, till I became deprived of it.

I had to take those sleeping pills for quite a few months till it was gradually reduced and finally stopped altogether. But, things are not the same anymore. Every night whenever I lie in bed, the first thought that enters my mind is will I get sleep today. Every night I hope to be able to sleep and only get up directly in the morning. Every morning, whenever on those few occasions now, that I do get a sound sleep the entire night, I automatically tend to thank God for it. Such days, now seems like the greatest blessing of all.

So count on all your blessings that God has so gratefully granted you, no matter how small it may seem now, because once you lose it, it is then that we tend to realize the actual worth of it.

As rightly quoted by Woodrow Kroll: