I had a lesson the other day in how much I waste and what a luxury it is to live in this free and abundant world of ours.  The other day I was washing vegetables and chopping them for soup, and I had a small compost pile going.  I chopped fresh garlic, an onion, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, fresh green beans and kale.  I had a chicken thigh in the fridge so I cut the fat and skin off and added it to the soup.  As it began cooking, I noticed the small pile of veggie peels, the carrot and celery tops, the green bean tips and tough kale ends.  That would make a good soup in itself, I thought.  To a third world family, this could make an entire giant soup to feed them for a night.  I put it in a pot on the stove and added in the chicken fat and skin.  Forty minutes later it was just as delicious as the main soup.  I’ll be more mindful the next time I chop.  In the meantime, I have a bunny outside who loves the carrot tops and kale ends.  And now I appreciate what I have so much more.