7 Peculiar Little Things I'm Thankful For

I am in fact grateful for everything that I've been blessed with: an amazing family, incredible friends, an education, food, water, shelter, and so on. The list can run forever. But the items below are just some of the not-so-ordinary things to be grateful for, and I want to be thankful for these under-thanked things because they make life a lot better than it already is. 

1. Flushable Toilets

Being civilized human beings, we flush our waste products down the lavatory into the carefully planned sewage system about five times a day (and sometimes more, if you have unfortunately been hit by a stroke of diarrhea). It is an automatic, well-trained action to flush the toilet once you're... "Done", unless you're the inconsiderate person I'm always complaining about (I'm kidding). Having the ability to dispose our unwanted products in such a clean manner is definitely something to be thankful for. I mean, who doesn't complain when a poorly-maintained public toilet cannot flush?

2. Door locks

With a simple twist or push of a little knob on the door, we immediately feel safe. This privacy is much needed as we clothe our bare bodies or go to sleep. How insecure we suddenly feel when the lock on a door of a fitting room malfunctions! It is this tiny but important invention that helps us uphold our dignity.

3. Night lights

The little moon-shaped night light is one of my favourite yet under-appreciated objects in my room. Its warm and soft yellow light soothes an anxious mind and lulls the tired eyes to sleep. I used to be afraid of the dark, but I grew out of the fear. My moon has been in my room since I was seven, and something that I've been using for the past nine years clearly must be thanked. 

4. Bolsters

It is time to sleep and you feel lonely. You dearly miss your loved ones and you want to hug something. Little Bolster (commonly known to Chinese Malaysians as "chouchou", translated: "smelly") to the rescue! You hug it fiercely until you feel calmed and you fall asleep peacefully. It's nice to have a little cushiony lump to rest your head or arm on, and it's fantastic for adding the extra height under a pillow. 

5. Belts

Having a slim abdomen but averagely long legs, finding the perfect fit for jeans is almost impossible. If the waistband is perfect, the pants stop above my ankle. If the length just touches the top of my shoes, the waistband is so wide; I can stuff a chicken down my pants. It is because of a powerful, thin piece of leather known as the belt that holds my pants in place and saves me from the humiliation of buttcrack display. 

6. Leftie products

I exclaim with delight when I spot any specially-made left-handed object, be it a college table-chair, or a pair of scissors, or even better, a guitar. It is heartwarming to know that someone out there cares for the lefties and wants us to enjoy life to the fullest without having to worry about "normal" items. (Now, if someone could start selling back-to-front spiral notebooks...)

7. Guitar capo

All guitarists can relate. As an amateur guitarist, the capo is your best friend. You learn six chords and use them for every single song because a guitar is just that versatile. Gone are the days of struggling with bar chords that seem to hate your blistered fingers! Use a capo, and voila! -- songs in every key now available. Who can count the number of times I have relied on the oddly-shaped guitar capo to save my embarrassed face?

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That's it! Hope you enjoyed reading my list of peculiar things that I'm thankful for. These little under-appreciated objects can also be wonderful examples to follow! Each and everyone of us are made for a special purpose, and it is up to us how we want to think of it. Trying to be a belt when you are in fact a guitar capo is absurd! Find your inner capo, and unleash the full potential in yourself. Then you can be appreciated as the useful little capo that you are!

It is these things that remind me to never take anything for granted, whether it is something greatly important like clean water or something as minuscule as a doorknob lock. 

Life is great; these things make it greater.