My gratitude list has changed significantly since my trip to India.
I’m thankful for clean water, sanitation and a really nice roof over my head.
I’m thankful for potty pads and poop bags and all the things that mean we don’t usually have to dodge pet waste when we walk.
I’m thankful for refrigeration, pasteurizationand all the things that keep our food safe to eat.
I’m thankful for excellent medical care and the means to pay for it. And I’m thankful that I’m healthy.
I’m grateful that I was born into a family that made educationa priority and that I never wanted for a single thing.
I’m grateful that I was able to make my own way in the world and a pretty good one at that. So grateful.
I’m grateful for a vacuum cleaner instead of a rough, hand-hewn and ineffectual whisk broom. Ok, hell, here’s the truth: I’m grateful for the women I pay to clean my house and that I have the means to pay them.
I believe in reincarnation and after spending most of November in India, I’m grateful that I lucked out in this lifetimeand was born in the modern West.
I’m grateful to be an American, not in the silly, knee-jerk, chest-beating, flag-waving way but in a quiet way that appreciates the parts of our society that work.
Yes, I’m grateful. This year, I’m damn grateful.
If you’re grateful for some of the same things, I hope you will do something for the homeless this season. Here are a few easy things we can do:
Find a sale at Kohl’s, Target, Old Navy or anywhere and buy warm sweatshirts and sweatpants to donate to a group that helps the homeless.
Volunteer at a soup kitchen or some other place that needs help.
Collect or buy blankets and towels and donate to an animal shelter for homeless dogs and cats.
Adopt a shelter pet instead of buying one.
Write a check
And then:
Here’s what I’d like to know: what single thing are you most thankful for today?
I’m thankful for YOU, and I’ll be drawing one winner from today’s comments. They’ll get a little gift in the mail.
So share: pick one thing you are super-thankful for and tell us what it is in comments below.
I’ve spent considerable time in India and ‘western toilets’ are by far the thing I am most grateful for when traveling to that neck of the woods!
And bottled water, of course.
I am grateful for my courageous spirit and the ability to step off (albeit sometimes timidly) into new adventures. This is something that has come with age and experience. And something I learned from my two younger brothers who both died of AIDS in 1989. Life is too short. Do it now. Start where you are.
Darling Carol – Of course, I am grateful for our friendship.
Grateful for so much of what this lifetime has given me.
But above all, gratitude flows for consciousness and the compassion that comes with the growth of it – the ability to see more clearly than I ever have before. xxdv
I’m grateful for a life which has given me enough. Enough food and shelter, enough love, enough family and friends, enough fun, enough time, enough space, enough beauty. And for finally being old enough and experienced enough to realize that it really is ENOUGH!
Carol, I’m grateful for your posts, especially the ones from India, where I’ll probably never go. But most of all I’m grateful for the love, support, and warmth of my wonderful wife Laura. Oh, and my two sons, and my three stepkids, and … and … and …
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I’ve spent considerable time in India and ‘western toilets’ are by far the thing I am most grateful for when traveling to that neck of the woods!
And bottled water, of course.
I am grateful for my courageous spirit and the ability to step off (albeit sometimes timidly) into new adventures. This is something that has come with age and experience. And something I learned from my two younger brothers who both died of AIDS in 1989. Life is too short. Do it now. Start where you are.
Love this! Thanks for entering, and I share your gratitudes!
Darling Carol – Of course, I am grateful for our friendship.
Grateful for so much of what this lifetime has given me.
But above all, gratitude flows for consciousness and the compassion that comes with the growth of it – the ability to see more clearly than I ever have before. xxdv
Ah, Ev, deep as ever. The thing I love best about you and our friendship. xo
I’m grateful for a life which has given me enough. Enough food and shelter, enough love, enough family and friends, enough fun, enough time, enough space, enough beauty. And for finally being old enough and experienced enough to realize that it really is ENOUGH!
I so hear you! xo
Carol, I’m grateful for your posts, especially the ones from India, where I’ll probably never go. But most of all I’m grateful for the love, support, and warmth of my wonderful wife Laura. Oh, and my two sons, and my three stepkids, and … and … and …
You’ve got it all, Ken! Hugs…