A young Austrian bodybuilder arrives in America and starts looking for work.
He can find only menial labor that pays almost nothing. Cleaning up construction debris. Lifting crates onto trucks.
He does this work with a grim face and without complaint. His employer, a small, apprehensive man, sometimes apologizes when he asks the bodybuilder to do particularly unglamorous tasks.
When he’s asked to haul thirty splintery wooden crates up to the second floor:
“It is fine. I get to strengthen my biceps, and enjoy how strong they already are.”
When he’s asked to gather all the scrap iron from a factory floor and put it into a bin:
“It is good. I get to strengthen my back, and enjoy how strong it already is.”
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I'm David, and Raptitude is a blog about getting better at being human -- things we can do to improve our lives today.
To avoid falling back into the rut of ingratitude for the miracle of being alive, I use the snooze feature on gmail to send this essay to myself once a month. Thank you.