Do you think that people in the United States value their mattress? I mean do they REALLY appreciate the bed they sleep on? Remember that this is the place they go to rest and restore themselves, spend time with their significant other  and enjoy those intimate moments etc. How big of a deal is that piece of furniture in their home?

There are about 51.2 million refugees or people that are forcibly displaced from their homes in the world today. These people who are fleeing for their lives, in many cases, grab only the absolute necessities as they travel from town to town looking for a safe place to simply exist. They are not loading up the SUV and hitting the Stop and Shop for fuel and beef jerky on their way out of town. These people carry their life with them, their most valued possessions, to what they hope is a safe place. After seeing these pictures it left me thinking that maybe people take their mattress for granted. I spoke to some relief workers about this and they told me that after any disaster or war, their hope was to get people food, clothing, and something to sleep on to cover the basic necessities of life. Do you see your mattress the same way?

If you had to flee your home and could only take what you could carry, what would you bring? Do we do a good enough job of valuing not just sleep, but the equipment we use to get it?

I want to thank Karsten Siewart from Alessandra Yarns for sending me these links so that I could share them with you! If you have any ideas for a blog post please pass them along.