Till It's Gone Analysis

Until It’s Gone
Joni Mitchell once said, “You don’t know what you got till it’s gone.” Odds are, you knew what you had, but you thought you’d never lose it. In this world we often take things for granted, people and possessions. We fall short of realizing the true value of things around us. We do not realize that we need to acknowledge the things we have before they become the things we had.
For example, there are some things we do not realize we are taking advantage of, like running water. Running water provides us the luxury of showers and baths, being able to flush a toilet, and washing clothes and dishes. These are just some of the basic things we enjoy every day because of running water. Today, water is easily transported through pipes

into your home. People who do not have this are forced to carry water in jugs or buckets from water sources to their homes. After carrying it to their homes they would then be essential to boil it in order to make the water safe to drink. We are very privileged to have access to clean and running water. Twice the population of the United States lives without access to safe water. After reading this statistic, I hope you are more aware of how fortunate you truly are.
One of the most common things people take for granted is life itself. That is berserk to say and think about, but it is true. We awoke today, breathing and alive, which is more than some people. Others go to work like any typical day, then end up dead because of things like The Boston Massacre, 9/11, or simply just a car wreck. In life, we rarely see what is coming, so why should we take it for granted? Our life is not assured. We are healthy, we have food and water, and we have a roof over our head, while others do not. We must continuously savor each moment, because it could easily be our last.
Lastly, we ultimately take people and family for granted. Recently, my aunt lost a very close friend and it had me thinking about these things. He died of a massive heart attack at age 39 with no medical problems leading up to it. This was truly out of nowhere. Some of us thought, how could this happen with no warning signs, medical history, or family history dealing with heart problems? My aunt said to me, “I always pictured us left here until the end together, sitting in rocking chairs on the front porch of an old folk’s home, talking about life and all our friends who left before us.” It is things like this that make you think about how someone’s life could end so abruptly, even the ones they thought would be there in the end. You cannot take a friend’s or family member’s life for granted because you never know when they will be gone.
There are countless things in life that we take for granted, whether we recognize them or not. Sometimes we need to take time and appreciate the people in our lives that we love. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. It is also important to sit down and think about all that you have and how very fortunate you are. It is easy for us to get caught up in everyday life and not be mindful of all that we have to be thankful for.