No Limits |
The Freedom Blog™
Are
You Thankful?
Written by Steven Griggs | stevengriggs.com
“When you
rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your
strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason
to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself”
Tecumseh
“If the
only prayer you ever say in your life is “thank you”, it will be enough.”
Meister
Eckhart
Sometimes it's so easy to forget how fortunate we are. We live in such abundance and richness.
In
America we live in a culture where most of us have everything we need. Food is
abundant, housing is available, medical resources are available, even if
through emergency room visits.
But
there is a contradiction here.
Because
of this abundance approximately 154.7 million Americans are overweight or obese.
This is 49% of our total population.
Another
contradiction is that in spite of such abundance there are still nearly 1.5
million people in America who live on less than $2.00 a day, there are also 1.35
million people who are homeless.
Almost
half the world- over 3 billion people- live on less than $2.50 day. These same
people have limited access to clean water and lack basic sanitation. This means
they have to walk almost 1 1/2
miles round trip twice a day- once in
the morning and again in the evening- to carry home their water. They have no
indoor toilets so they are forced to “go” outside.
I
quote these statistics to give us fortunate ones some contrast. Can you picture yourself living in a dirt floor hut,
cooking over an open fire, walking 3 miles a day to carry water to drink and
stay clean with?
So unless
you are one of the 3 billion people living in poverty or you are homeless, how could you
ever complain about your life?
It’s
easy to be happy and confident when things in your life are going well. It’s
when things change and your circumstances become more challenging that we find
out who we really are.
So
what is the answer?
If
you are able to volunteer your time or talents to organizations involved in
helping people then by all means do so.
Otherwise
the only answer is for each of us is to do our best to be open and supportive
to all we meet and help those we can.
I
truly believe being thankful and showing gratitude for what you have is the
only real way to reconnect and reach a deeper understanding of this journey we are all on.
When
you are truly thankful, you feel gratitude. By feeling gratitude you open your
heart and renew your connection to everything.
You,
the individual, disappears.
Your
needs and possessions fade into the distance.
You
begin to remember why you are here.
You
remember that every day is a gift, an opportunity to grow and, if possible,
make a difference.
But
sometimes it’s hard to be thankful, it’s hard to remember how good
you have it.
We
get caught up in our daily rhythm. With work requirements and family needs,
time seems limited and nothing seems to get done. We feel pressure and
frustration about the things we didn't accomplish that day. We dwell on
uncompleted projects and unfulfilled plans. Then we collapse into bed each
night only to start all over again in the morning.
Most
of us find ourselves locked into a tick tock life we didn't think we signed up
for.
But
it happens.
“Then one day you find
10 years have got behind you, no one told you when to run, you missed the
starting gun…..” (Pink Floyd)
It
is so easy to drift along in our well planned lives…..
So
remember that what you have, where you live, what you drive is temporary. It doesn't define you, unless you want
to be defined as a car, a house, a job or whatever.
It
all belongs to the universe. You just get to use it while you’re here. When you
leave someone else will get to use it.
This New Year's eve resolve to not make resolutions.
This New Year's eve resolve to not make resolutions.
Instead be thankful. In the morning when you walk out your door, breathe in the air, look up into the sky and with a
big smile on your face and your arms outstretched, say “Thank you!”
And
mean it.
