I love this story. It is so beautifully written! And it is giving me a lot to think about as I face a move. What to keep, what to give to the Salvation Army, what to offer to friends and family... The observation about mana and cherished objects is important. Steiner once observed Spirit is never without matter, and matter is never without spirit. Pondering that observation is helpful to me. Your tender article brought these issues into life! Thank you.

It's certainly good to enjoy a sense of gratitude for what we have. Is it really true that you did nothing yourself in order to experience these things? Didn't you pick the house where you would live? Didn't you cultivate a taste for nature and birds' songs? Didn't you fix the cup of coffee?

I think it's good to have gratitude for the people who campaigned to stop the use of DDT when I enjoy seeing pelicans fly over. Maybe I'll support environmental causes. I think it's good to have gratitude for the people who picked the coffee beans... maybe I'll buy "fair traded coffee." I think it's critical for us to do the things which would actually entitle us to think that we had indeed done something ourselves to be able to experience these lovely things.