If we just stopped and tried to add up all the things (and non-things) we should be grateful for every day of our lives...the list would be endless.
Think about your circumstances..
Would you prefer to have your only meal today be a leftover, slightly moldy, sandwich from the dumpster?
Without any details, think about indoor toilets, toilet paper, hot water, running water, clean water, any water at all, nice clothes, warm clothes, clothes that fit (unless you had too many moldy sandwiches), any clothes at all, contact lenses, glasses, access to a dentist, a toothbrush, nice shoes, shoes that fit, any shoes at all....all this in a space of a few minutes and we aren't even dressed and out of the house yet....EVERY DAY. Do you leave the house this morning filled with gratitude after a full hot breakfast, hot shower, nice shoes, stylish and expensive outfit, groomed and ready for the day as you exit your 3BD/2.5 Bath, two-story home in a nice suburb and walk (yes, with two legs and two feet) over to your Toyota Prius and off you go, popping out the iPod to switch to the CD player..
How lame is it for any of us (connected to the internet, on our iPad, smartphone, PC, MAC) reading (or writing) this and feel bummed that our life was not perfect today. How many people in the known universe would trade lives with you, straight up, no questions asked.
When you are at that first inconvenient red light tomorrow (on your way to work-if you have a job)...use the time to admire your clean, pressed (you do have an iron and a washer & dryer with hot water and electricity - right?) clothes, shoes, car (that runs) and the beautiful red light (because you can see and you aren't color blind), - look in the vanity (good word) mirror...do you have hair (cancer patients would love to have your bad hair day), whoa, - look (with eyes that work) - you actually have teeth that aren't rotted off at the gum line and (turn down Aerosmith on the plugged in iPOD) and say out-loud (if you still have a voice box and the education and hearing to understand how to make words with sound)..
"Wow, I have a lot to be grateful for! Damn, I'm lucky. Thank you God, for making the light red, so I could take that one precious moment in my day to reflect on the gifts I have all around me. Thank you!"
Oh, wait - before you turned 'Dream On' off...did you really listen to the words:
Everytime that I look in the mirror
All these lines on my face gettin clearer
The past is gone
It went by like dust to dawn
Isnt that the way
Everybody's got their dues in life to pay
Sing with me, sing for the years
Sing for the laughter and sing for the tears
Sing with me, if its just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good lord will take you away
Now- before you put your car in drive and the light turns green..pop in Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World and LISTEN to the words...
I
see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
and I think to myself, what a wonderful world
I see skies of blue and clouds of white
the bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
and I think to myself, what a wonderful world
the colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands, saying, "how do you do?"
they're really saying, "I love you"
I hear babies cry, I watch them grow
they'll learn much more, than I'll ever know
and I think to myself, what a wonderful world
yes, I think to myself, what a wonderful world
I see them bloom for me and you
and I think to myself, what a wonderful world
I see skies of blue and clouds of white
the bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
and I think to myself, what a wonderful world
the colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands, saying, "how do you do?"
they're really saying, "I love you"
I hear babies cry, I watch them grow
they'll learn much more, than I'll ever know
and I think to myself, what a wonderful world
yes, I think to myself, what a wonderful world
I could go on and on about this one hour in our day (we get 23 more as well, as a new set tomorrow), but the internet has only so much band width...just sayin'...
rlw
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