Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Counting My Blessings

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, our national day of expressing gratitude for the things
in our lives for which we are thankful. While it is easy to give thanks in good times, it is a
far stronger statement to give thanks in times like these as it is much more heartfelt when
circumstances are daunting. Even in the darkest hours one can still find good things to be
grateful for; to start with, one can be grateful that one is alive, and therefore has the where-
withal to rise up from the lowly, dreary place one has fallen to. And though it sounds like a
cliche', things can certainly be worse than they actually are. All of us should bear this in mind,
especially when we feel our pain the most.

Here are some of the things that your humble Peasant is thankful for, and not just at
Thanksgiving:

Rising each morning to greet another day, in which I sow the seeds for the things in life
that I desire to have, to accomplish, and to enjoy.

I have very loving, caring, generous friends who have helped me to navigate the stormy
waters in which I have had to sail in during the past two years. Their help has been invaluable
in helping me to overcome some career, legal, and other challenges which have been products
of this perilously weak economy.

After losing the lease on my previous home and getting evicted for failure to keep current on
the rent, I have a new home where my landlord is also an attorney specializing in financial
difficulties of various sorts --- and he is assisting me with related litigation against me PRO
BONO (free of charge)!

When I lost a decent-paying job which also afforded me health insurance and a retirement plan,
one friend hired me to be a member of his landscaping crew, as well as to administer a youth
basketball league. Another friend helped me to gain my current job, a Christmastime position
at a JC Penney store which could last beyond the yuletide season. This same friend also helped me to move to my current home, never asking for compensation or renumeration.
A friend at my church, who is an organizer of our job seekers' support group and a career coach
as well as a resume' specialist, crafted a brand new resume' for me --- I never even asked her
to do this and would never have done! --- volunteering her time and labor.
Food is not a problem. I have been paid in both money and groceries by my landscaping friend
for my work. I also receive a monthly grocery voucher from a program at my church, for which
I shall repay same for all their help when things improve a bit more for me.
My health is quite good. I have ample stamina as well. I'd better have, as I am on my feet all
day each work day at JC Penney!
My gratitude for having my dear cat Kevin with me for ten wonderful years is without measure;
although he passed away last year just two days after Thanksgiving I shall always be thankful
for the time we spent together, right up to the end. Kevin breathed his final breath as I held him
close. I immediately prayed a prayer of thankfulness for having this beautiful and loving little
companion, and will never stop being thankful for Kevin's presence in my life. I could not ask for
a better, finer cat, or any animal companion for that matter.
I am deeply grateful for all of my friends, past and present, passed on and still living. I cherish
each and every one of them! They have brightened my life more than I can describe with any
words. They each mean more to me than I shall ever mean to them.
Finally, I am so very grateful to live in a country where there are countless opportunities to
create and enjoy a wonderful life with career success, a generous income, and the comforts and
pleasures that it makes possible; where I am free to express my thoughts, opinions, and ideas
(such as those here in my blog); where liberty for the individual, rather than total compliance
with and obedience to the state, is the rule. I am thankful every day for being a citizen of the
United States of America.
MEM

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