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Gratitude: What's in a Glass of Carrot Juice?

Rex and I were standing in line at the community food would take care of the bookkeeping, and checkers
Coop in Bellingham, Washington, waiting to get a would need cash registers to handle purchases. In the
glass of carrot juice. The price for a large glass of juice warehouse, more people (possibly using a fork lift
seemed expensive until I remembered a quote by the truck—yet another company), would be necessary to
Dalai Lama: Our very existence and well-being are a unload the carrots and take them inside. There would
result of the cooperation be someone to put the
and contributions of carrots into the vegetable
countless others. His bins to sell (bins that had
words took on special to be made), and maybe
meaning and triggered another person would
a thought process about take the carrots over to
how the carrot juice had the juice bar where they
come into our lives. would then be prepared to
become juice.
In my imagination, it all
started with the vision I remembered to factor
and dream of the growers in the juicer, the people
who wanted to have who designed and
a farm, who worked manufactured it, and the
the land, planted the plant that was built to
seeds, tended, watered, make the juicers. Again,
and fertilized the baby there were shipping and
carrots. Finally a crop handling people, trucks
was harvested. (maybe even trains, and
planes) drivers, sales and marketing people, and so on!
The farm had to wash, package, and box the carrots.
Boxes had to be made to put the carrots into! People And to think this whole scenario (and a whole lot
had to load the boxes onto the truck, but first, trucks more) had happened before we’d even seen the carrots
had to be built! And so a trucking company became that were being put into the juicer by a person who
someone’s dream. The carrots would be shipped was working behind the counter, who then poured the
from the farm to their destination point on roads that finished juice into a glass (another factor), and handed
were already made by yet more people, using many it to us with a smile.
machines from many different companies.
Looking at the expense in this light, paying $4.50 for 12
Next came the store who purchased the carrots—a ounces of fresh carrot juice seemed like a bargain! Yes,
place of business that was first envisioned, created and the Dalai Lama was right, “our very existence and well-
built by many people, using immeasurable resources. being are a result of the cooperation and contributions
A buyer would handle the ordering, and an accountant of countless others.”

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