Gratitude - Day 20

To know when you have enough is to be rich beyond measure.
Lao Tsu

The grizzly bear awakes, feeling a tad less sleepy but still rather grumpy. I'm not sure what's going on. Usually a nap, or two, or three, can revitalize my good humor. Truth be told I'm most likely just feeling sorry for myself, tired of trying to change what obviously cannot be changed. Whine. Whine. Whine. It was better, I'm sure that I secluded myself.

Yesterday in the periods of wakefulness between snoozes, I lay in bed counting my blessings. It helped I think. I'm thankful for, I said to no one but me:
  • the house I'm in (the one which is currently being pressure washed and turning yellow/white polka dotted)
  • the bedroom in the house I'm in
  • the bed in the bedroom in the house I'm in
  • the sheets on the bed in the bedroom in the house I'm in
  • the pillow on the bed I'm in the bedroom in the house I'm in
  • the quilt over the sheets on the bed in the bedroom in the house I'm in
  • the black cat sleeping with me on the bed in the bedroom in the house I'm in
  • ..... and so on.
After dinner, before turning in for the night, I received a phone call from the Project Director of The Southwest Indian Foundation. We worked out the details so we can include some of the Navajo reservation hospitals in our Child Guild of the Christ layette donations. I was telling him what we include in the shoebox and the conversation turned to diapers. Most of the women on the reservation, he told me, used Pampers because they don't have water nearby for washing cloth diapers. They have to haul it in.

Excuse me, but we were talking about America, not a third-world country. No heat? No electricity? No clean water? My selfish, pea-sized, whiny heart cracked open. Today I will add to my list. I am thankful for:
  • The polka-dot house I live in
  • The electricity in the house I live in
  • The water in the house I live in
  • The central H/A in the house I live in
  • The washer/dryer/dishwasher, bathtub, and sprinkler system at the house I live in

Mr. Esparza also told me just what needed to hear, "even with everything you hear on the news, people are good." I was glad for the reminder of one of my own beliefs.

Gratitude, I'm learning, is not just about knowing what I have. It's also about being aware of what other's don't have. The awareness increases my gratitude and makes me more generous to others.

Wishing for you eyes to see all the blessings in your midst and a heart that's open to the plight of others,

Merry ME

Comments

Molly said…
is the polka dot thing intentional? because i've found it a cheerful thought. i lived on a street with a big pink house and a purple door. it housed a mom and her 3 daughters. after the surprise wore off, it was a very cheerful looking house.
November 20, 2009 at 3:58 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Every Little Bit Helps

Image
UPDATE:  I'll be picking a winner on Thanksgiving Day. So make a donation and leave your name in the comment section below.  ME UPDATE:  I see a tiny problem but it should be easy to fix. Commenting anonymously doesn't get your name in the drawing. And there's no way to tell Anonymous A from Anonymous B. Are you different or the same? I need to be able to get back in touch with you somehow. We can exchange email addy's later. But please at least leave your name. If you still comment as Anonymous, just say your name in the comment.  You can use first name and last initial. Or last name alone. Or an Alias. Just so I can get your name in the hat. And really, thank you. Thank you again and again. Merry ME _____ I always breathe a sigh of relief when a storm veers away from Jacksonville.  At the same time it's hard not to feel guilty that it went somewhere else.  I was in no way prepared for Hurricane Sandy. Like a lot of others, I felt like the...
Read more

An Easter Miracle

Image
How is it that after someone you love dies, time moves on even when it feel like its standing still? Philosophers, poets and writers have tried to answer that question since time began. I don't have the answer. I just know that, by what I can only imagine is the Grace of God, it does. When you heart is broken into something resembling a 1000 piece jig saw puzzle and there are no directions on how to put it together, somehow it mends. When some else dies and it cracks again, God stitches the old wound and the new wound together into a patchwork of healed scars. Fifteen years ago, when I watched my mother draw a breath then counted the seconds before she took another but none came, I sat by her bed and tried to imagine being a motherless child. Then I did what any kid would do, ran down the long hospital corridor sounding the alarm. "My mother isn't breathing." "My mother isn't breathing."  Want to see doctors, nurses, CNAs, and cleaning ladies tur...
Read more

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY BLOG PARTY

Image
In honor of women everywhere ... Welcome to the International Women's Day Blog Party (Turn up the sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuB3_HLcFfk ) International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. To this end, this party is a way to honor those special ladies who have inspired us and made us better than we ever thought we could be. It is with gratitude and pride I welcome you to my blog. I'm anxious to hear your stories and celebrate your choices. All you have to do is go down to the bottom of this post and click on the comment section. That will take you to another page where you can write your tribute in the space provided. You can use your Google/Blogger user name or remain anonymous. There is nothing to join. If you choose to post anonymously please leave your name in the comment section so we'll all know who you are. When you're through hit publish and voila your lady is o...
Read more