It took me just under 40 minutes to realize I have been looking at life wrong.

I was working on a story for my internship about the local food bank making a move to a new building. There had been Googling. There had been research and question preparation. But, as any journalist will tell you, nothing beats reporting in person.

I was worried about this story, something fairly uncommon for me. I didn’t want to cross a line. I didn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable. I was concerned about my work and myself. A push on the door, jingle of a bell, and I was inside.

Don’t look at anyone, I thought. People don’t want you to bother them. They want their peace.

I have heard before that people typically don’t pay much attention to others, as they can be more concerned with themselves. How they look, what they’re driving, how much money they make. Self-perception reigned above perception and I was the controlled variable.

It was busy. Volunteers zoomed around the store like bees among the clients, offering a smile and a helping hand. I fiddled with my notepad and pen, pausing before finding my interviewee.

We chatted for about 30 minutes. She told me of dignity, of respect, of helping those who were looking for a little bit of assistance. She said the food bank’s purpose was to fill the gaps that appeared in people’s lives. The interview ended, I pushed the red button on my phone to stop my recording, and I left.

While I was walking back to my car, a Subaru parked outside the store caught my eye. I’ve seen that car before; I’ve passed it just about every day since I headed west for my internship. It’s my neighbor’s.

I’ve had moments when I’ve felt like I didn’t have much going for me. I’ve doubted each step I’ve taken and I’ve wished that things would be different. Yet, as I neared my own car, I had a sudden realization that my life was perfectly fine the way it is.

My family has given me a strong foundation to stand tall on. My friends have given me enough joy that a quick recollection brings a smile to my face. I have food on my plate and clothes on my back. I had learned to take what I had for granted – a flaw, yes, and a grave mistake, too.

You’re an idiot, I thought. I hadn’t pushed myself hard enough to look from the eyes of others. There was the occasional volunteering project that had popped up every now and then in my life, but too often I was operating in my own comfortable orbit. I had been taking everything for granted and it took a shove to the chest for me to realize it.

Life is not guaranteed to continue each day. The world has never made me a promise to tilt the way that works best for us. One of the few things promised to us, however, is the pursuit of happiness, and what’s happiness when it’s not shared with those nearest to us? How does it exist if it’s rooted in all things tangible?

A lesson in taking things for granted: keep your eyes affixed upon the ground, never push into the unknown, never give all that you can and more. And never see the lives of others to be just as beautiful as your own.