Thanks Giving..for everything.

In a few days, it will be time to do a traditional celebration of thanks giving. What really is worth being thankful for? I think it's the miracle of being alive. Yes, I may have some aches and pains and sometimes it is even hard to breathe, but really, I'm feeling and breathing still. And let's not forget the pleasure of thinking! There may come a time when physical torment becomes so extreme that death seems the better option, but not now, not yet. There are so many simple pleasurable things. Ridding the body of waste is a relief and I'm glad to be able to do that. I remember a time when I got severely constipated from a medication. I thought I was going to explode like some seriously malfunctioning septic system on a TV show. Whew-I'm glad that is past! Imagine the days before nice soft splinter free toilet paper existed. I love every roll-even the outrageously cheap ones. I remember a time of financial hardship when we used mismatched socks instead of toilet paper. The warmth of the sun is wonderful, the feel of the rain is refreshing. These along with the earth grew some good peppers for me this past summer. I think back to when I got injured doing a job that deep down I really hated all those years ago, and I am glad that injury set me free of a path that I thought I had to follow. I let go of a bunch of things, and found out how to do many more. I remember when I worked like mad, yet could barely pay the electric bill and never mind having any fancy technology. I'm thankful to have my own computer, and to have electricity. How fortunate I am to have water available right in my house! So glad to have a roof over my head, and not to be hungry. Yes, I've lived for months on ramen noodles. Variety sure is nice! I'm glad I have raised two daughters, and that I am still raising two. I think of my family and the fine people I've met during my lifetime. I think of the many wonderful animals I have encountered or owned as pets. So many things to be appreciated, so many lessons learned and more to figure out. The point is to be filled with gratitude every moment for these and so much more-not just to take one day, call it a holiday-and give lip service and ceremony to gratitude. I don't wake up every single morning thanking a higher power, I simply wake up completely thankful. I couldn't say how this has happened, but it is this way for me and has been for a year or so and I am glad. It wasn't that my material circumstances changed in any spectacular way either. That aspect of life hasn't changed much at all. It was my mind that I changed.