Being Thankful

When I awoke this morning, I wasn’t feeling connected to a particular topic for today. My thoughts were scattered. And then a Blackberry text message from a friend I haven’t spoken to in a while set off a light. I wished my husband’s friend a quick happy new year this morning and asked him how he was doing. His reply, “Happy New Year to you too. We are overdue to get together. Things are okay. They could definitely be better, but then again, I could be in Haiti.”

Wow, I thought. How true. I forwarded that message to my husband immediately. I wanted him to see the positive attitude that his friend had, and to see his gratefulness, vs. what he was lacking. My husband, not always one for seeing the glass half full, indeed got the message. We are so caught up in the daily rat race, that we don’t often show appreciation and gratitude for what we DO have. We harp on what’s lacking, or what’s wrong. We take those we love and what we have for granted.

Look at the devastation in Haiti. After a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, the death toll is in the tens of thousands. These people have lost their homes, their families, their roads, their resources. And yet, we watch the news, disconnected in our own lives at the fragility of life. We’ve lost sight of the true meaning of life. We are green with envy. We are greedy. We want more and more. We look to our neighbors to see what they have. We don’t look at the goodness that we have in our own homes.

So today’s blog was to remind you, that when the going gets tough, it could always be tougher. It may be easier said than done, but make the effort today. Make today the day where you look at the job you may hate, and think, at least I HAVE A JOB. Look at your kids who may fluster you sometimes, and think, I was able to CONCEIVE a child. Be thankful today. Be grateful.