Daily Gratitude 2009-2013 Countdown To Thanksgiving

2013

*I am thankful to have good people in my life. This makes such a difference-their/your perspective, inspiration, and support has blessed me immensely over the decades and I am very grateful.

 * As I crawl into my warm, safe, & comfortable bed I am aware of how blessed I am. 1 in 50 children in this country are homeless (2009 study by National Center on Family Homelessness) of which 44% are sleeping outside tonight; I can only imagine the stress their parents feel (puts it in perspective when I think I'm experiencing stress).

*Although we all may not be happy with all of our gov't all of the time, I am thankful to be living in 1 of the 20 least corrupt countries (USA came in 19th).   (With the degree of corruption inversely correlating to the pace at which a country makes economic and social progress, I am thankful for the good in what we have.)

*Today I'm thankful for bright sunshine, extra sleep, to have retained power (am hoping the 145,000 in Seattle area who lost it in yesterday's wind storm regain it today) and the beauty that the autumn foliage is providing us. (From subtle to stunning, these fall colors are gorgeous!)

*I am thankful for windows~ they keep the warmth in, the cold out, and allow us to view the natural beauty of the outdoors around us in comfort.

* The introvert in me is thankful for breathing room.  Kirkland =4,523 people / per sqr mile, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) = 72,000 people / psm

* I am thankful for Wi-Fi (and the flexibility it provides), for streaming of music (I’ve learned of and am enjoying so many artists and songs I might otherwise not know of), and for solar lighting (helps us and our pets in the dark).

* I am thankful that our bodies are designed to be self-healing. Thank you, immune system, for being on the job.

* I am thankful for the eggs that I am cooking for brunch (and the chickens, farmers, truckers,& grocers who made them possible for me to have). With 1 in every 6.7 Americans on food stamps, I feel so fortunate to have nutritious food.

* Today I am thankful for job interviews, cell phones (felt great to hear a friend's laughter), chiropractors (the relief they provide), & recycling.

* I am thankful to be warm and dry, and to have running water, a closet of clothes, a refrigerator, my toothbrush, and stability~ basics that those amidst natural disasters and those living in developing nations consider to be luxuries.

* I am thankful for Excel & the efficiencies it brought us. (Can you imagine doing all these calculations manually?)

* I am very thankful that those of us in No. America are free to choose & practice our own spiritual beliefs *and that we didn't have to spend 65 cold & damp days crossing an ocean to obtain these freedoms).

* It's easy to be generous when you have enough.  It's true & beautiful generosity when your compassion for others results in your giving to those in more dire need when you yourself do not have enough."  Helen Mosher (who's concerned and generous heart consistently astounded me).

* I am very thankful to be plenty warm: for affordable gas heat that quickly heats up my cottage, for double-pane windows that help retain the heat, and for warm clothes and bedding.

2012

* I am thankful for honesty in others.  In my recent overwhelm I lost my wallet last Sunday.  On Thurs got a phone call- someone had found it and when I picked it up everything was still in it; even the cash!

* I am thankful for the extra hour we gained last night when we set our clocks back- most of us are so in need of more sleep.

* I am thankful for the electricity which is heating my home in this moment, making my tea water, playing music for me, etc... something that many of our counterparts on the east coast tonight (including my cousins in NY & NJ) are without.  I'm wishing all those affected by the storm, warmth and a dry place to sleep.

* I am thankful for kindness- and the difference it has made in each of our lives.

 * I am thankful to have a job.  Those 15 months between PivotLink and Visible Tech (Dec '08 - Mar '10) brought me more depth of compassion for those who want to work, and are doing their part to land a job.  A steady paycheck is a great blessing!

 * I am thankful for outstanding sibling teamwork- makes things so much easier, more fun, and strengthens the heart strings.

 * I am thankful to have health insurance (especially in light of my clumsiness) and the peace of mind it provides (48M Americans do not, 1 illness could wipe out their assets).

 * I am thankful for the unconditional love that pets give us.

 * I am thankful to have easy access to nutrition and the funds to buy these foods which nourish my body.  56 million children are stunted due to lack of nourishment.  I'm encouraged with the progress of this Millennium Goal of the U.N.'s that is being made.

* As I'm looking at my yard of leaves to rake today I'm thankful to have my own patch of dirt.  Avg lawn size in USA = 2624 sqr ft, in Germany = 656, and in Asia = less than 500 sqr ft. 

* I am thankful for when we can trust others- regardless of how well we know them.

* I am thankful for short work weeks, for family to give thanks with tomorrow, and for the love and support of friends!

 

2011

·  I am thankful for friends.

·  I am so thankful for my warm, safe, and cozy bed (22.8K people in WA State are sleeping outside or in a vehicle tonight)

·  I am thankful to have enough food in my stomach and still have additional food in my fridge & pantry. (In 2010 14.5%, which is aprx 1 in 7, U.S.A. households went hungry- we can change this.)

·  I am thankful for how supportive those I'm close to are. Their support and encouragement have kept me going.

·  I am thankful for transportation. My car affords me the freedom & flexibility to go wherever & whenever I want to go (and my home is just yards from a bus stop). Only 8.9% of our world's adults own a car- many of the rest only imagine having either or both efficient mass transit & car ownership.

·  I am thankful for good-natured humor. Hearing 2 dear friends laugh last night while we were together made my heart feel good, & being amused by my brother's wit in our car ride today lightened me up.

·  I am thankful for my home. I cherish each foot of the 700 sqr feet of it and feel so good living here. (The avg residential space per American = 742 s.ft, for those living in E.U. countries = 387, avg for those in developing nations = less than 160.)

·  I am thankful for a a job offer. And, I am especially thankful for the dear friends and family who prayed this into formation.

·  I am thankful that I have enough to share & still cover my immediate needs. (1 in every 6.25 Americans are now living below the poverty line. Source = U.S. Census Bureau report.) 

·  I am grateful for the many freedoms we have in the U.S.A.- and to those who held the vision of these freedoms and sacrificed to make them possible for us.

·  I am thankful for computers, software, & the significant efficiencies they have afforded us over the last 3+ decades.

·  I am thankful for the amount of "youth" I currently have. Being around those who are in their 80s snaps me into the awareness that I should appreciate how good I have it now (am fully mobile, independent, am mostly pain-free, etc...- ways of being that we'll long for 30 years from now).

* I am thankful for natural medicine.

 * I am thankful for good memories (of fun times with friends). Memories are ours to always have- they make us feel good, put matters into perspective, & stay with us to warm our hearts whenever we choose to recall them.

 * I am thankful for the eyeglasses that enabled me to drive home through the dark tonight. Corrective lenses have equipped so many to have productive lives! 1B+ people in developing nations need eyewear yet are without. 50% of children in African institutions for blind could read if they had glasses.

 * I am thankful for forgiveness~ for the graciousness of friends who've forgiven me when I've fallen short and for the space in me freed up when I've completely let go of the shortfallings of others.

  

2010  

* I am thankful for people who care and who are virtuous.

* I am thankful for humor and its ability to dissipate intended hostility.

* Today I'm thankful that my work is indoors, and..... that this monsoon is creating plenty of hydro-electricity for us to keep electricity costs down (67% of the PNW's electricity comes from hydro-power).

* I am thankful for weekends! (With the standard min. work hours for those in factories & mines in England at 11-16 hrs/day in a 6 day work week, English law was revised in 1847 to be only 10 hrs/day minimum if you were a child or a woman. France rolled their labor law back to “only”12 hrs/day in a 6 day work wk in 1848.) In the USA the Adamson Act in 1916 reduced the min hour day for railroad workers to 8 hrs with additional pay for o.t. I’m grateful that our generation has freedom for more work/life balance and more choices- I’m working this weekend, but it’s by my choice and very thankful to have a good job!

* I am thankful for the technology which allowed me to work from home today & yesterday amidst the snow. In the snowfall of 1989, I put on (downhill) rock skis and pushed myself 7 miles into the office (Physio). 

* I am so thankful that we can just turn a dial on our walls & heat instantly blasts into our homes! It must have been a chilly 64 days crossing the Atlantic in the Mayflower & then landing in MA in December of 1620 (more than ½ of them died within the first year). That’s serious determination to have freedom of spiritual beliefs & expression.

 

2009

·  I am grateful that every day is a new opportunity for betterment.

·  I am thankful for humor: good-natured wit, belly-laughs which rejuvenate, and upbeat antics. I am grateful for the affect that (positive and playful) humor can have upon a moment!

·  I am thankful for my education. (I smile at knowing the % of primary school aged children who are attending school has improved from 78.7% in 1990 to 84.5% as of 2006.)

·  I am thankful for dancing.

·  I am thankful for the rain we've been having- it likely means a good season for skiers & snowboarders and that we'll be spared water-rationing this summer.

·  I am thankful for my cozy home. (Aprx half the world's population now lives in cities or towns. 1 in every 3 of these urban dwellers lives in slum conditions- 2008 World Bank Report.)

·  In this month of gratitude I am reflecting on my thankfulness for our freedoms- to choose our spiritual beliefs, our political perspectives, who we are close to, how we spend our time each day.... and to be able to choose and choose again (even "the little things") throughout our lives.

·  I am thankful for internet access! We are among the 25.6% of the world’s population who has access to the world-wide web. I have especially appreciated it for connecting with others, for its help in my job search, for having info at our fingertips, and I smile at how it has helped my parents & their siblings to be in daily contact.

·  I am thankful for the green pieces of paper in my wallet. (80% of the world lives on less than $10/day, 50% on less than $2/day, and 28% on less than $1/day.)

·  On this Veterans Day (originating as Armistice Day in 1919) I am thankful for all those who have served. (My Dad, all his brothers, and all of my Mom's brothers served in WW2- my dear Uncle Alfred was in the 1st group of POW's captured, taken from Guam to a concentration camp in Asia, we're so thankful he's still with us & loving life!)

·  I am thankful for music.

·  I am thankful for reading and for books. (I am enthused that the percentage of adults who can both read & write has improved from 69% in 1980 to 79% in 2000, & is estimated to be 83% by 2010.)

·  I am thankful for hope.

·  I am thankful for my health! Today I go to a memorial service for a friend and tomorrow for a former co-worker (cancer took both); such sad reminders to me of how precious health is and to value & rejoice in whatever level of health it is that we each currently have.

·  I am thankful to be living in the NW.

·  I am thankful (& enthused) that the Nov/Dec issue of The Well Being Journal contains 2 articles I wrote. I wish vibrant health for everyone!

·  I am thankful to have the likelihood of more decades to love life ahead for me. The average (global) life expectancy at birth in 1955 was just 48 years; in 1995 it was 65 years; in 2025 it will reach 73 years and is estimated that no country will have an average life expectancy of less than 50 years. (Source = World Health Org.)

·  I am thankful to have been born to loving parents who were faithful to my brothers and me, as well as to each other.

·  I am thankful for my neighbors- caring, cool, fun, and helpful, they’ve been among the blessings I’ve enjoyed of living in this ‘hood for 12 years.

·  I am thankful that most of us (at least those who are on Facebook and reading this) have enough to eat. I am thankful for nourishment, for loved ones to celebrate holidays with, and for the many blessings that each day brings.

·  I am thankful that I have the capacity to make a difference.

·  Thanksgiving Day: I am thankful for so much to be thankful for! I wish you each a joyous celebration of a holiday defined as the expressing, emoting, & exuding of thankfulness for that which you value.