There's a whole lot of faceless people and far-flung materials supporting my lifestyle. There's no such thing as a self-made man.
And so it is that I come to you in this week which contains the day on which we are all supposed to stop, take stock and give thanks. I've decided to do so all this week, in hopes that, after seven straight days of extending the proper attitude of gratitude, perhaps it will become a daily habit I can carry throughout the coming year.
I have much to be grateful for:
- God - slippery, elusive, wonderous mysterious joy that She is.
- wife and kids - I am stunned at how much I haven't screwed them up. They're the best part of my really wonderful life.
- family/friends/faith community - I am surrounded by an eclectic mix of characters who routinely amaze me with their grace, imagination and love.
- freedom - I'm fortunate to live in a society of laws and latitude. I've grown up safe, been HANDED a great education, have found encouragement to speak up at almost every turn, and get to routinely stir the pot.
- music - Oh, sweet nectar for the ears. And to not only have the privilege of listening, but to also be able to CREATE music of my own, by myself or with talented friends and family.
- food - I really enjoy it.
- green grass, blue sky, yellow sun - Seriously, what a breath-taking combination.
- puppy jumps and arching-cat-shin-rubs - I'm usually the first human to come home in the evening, and I'm always greeted with love and enthusiasm.
- a really great fort - Sure, I never had to hold a mortgage on the ones I built 40 years ago out of couch cushions, but the house Teresa and I have built feels every bit as cool.
- my body - It is beginning to creak, bald and settle, but I can still do most of what I was doing 20 years ago.
- my mind - Good things come in small packages, I guess.
- good books - I just finished Steinbeck's "The Winter of Our Discontent." How cool is it that we can turn words into worlds?
1. Good health restored by knowledgable professionals like a surgeon, dietician and general practitioner, and the health insurance to pay for 80% of it.
ReplyDelete2. A job that waited 90 days for me to get well and come back and all the wonderful people who hugged me and told me they missed me.
3. A marvelous family full of other imperfectly wonderful, and wonderfully imperfect, people, among them...
4. Two outstanding parents with two distinct personalities who, though getting on in years and getting a little musty and rusty here and there are every bit as precious to me as when I was a wee lad.
5. Woods with leafy paths and two dogs- one very old and one very new- to explore them with while I convalesce.
6. Music. The universal language of the soul. I am awed by its myriad forms and the power of each to touch us.
7. The honor of listening to a hurting friend all the way to Philadelphia and all the way back- with a Steely Dan concert as an excuse to get huddled into an enclosed space (my car) and talk out some pain in his life.
8. The coming holidays, lack of dollars be damned!
9. Love, in all its many incarnations, facets and manisfestations. It grows and wanes, shifts and changes as though it had a life of its own, but it is our lives that animate love and love that animates our lives.
10. Waking with a headache in the middle of the night, but using the opportunity to stargaze.
11. Food, especially learning that diabetes doesn't mean a bland diet. There are lots of yummy whole grain and low-carb/high fiber things to munch.
12. A dietician friend who tells me dark chocolate is actually good for me and I really should eat one square a night, if I haven't been too naughty.
13. Weight melting off my body. My clothes becoming loose on me. Anticipating a new wardrobe, but especially feeling healthier than I have in a decade.
14. A younger brother that has always been a boon to my existence, now inspiring me to recognize how blessed I really am.
1. My life here in NC. If you had asked me where and what I'd be doing today back when I got married 12 years ago I would've been so far off. This life is much better!
ReplyDelete2. Electricity that comes on everytime I want it.
3. Our two cats--yep, even the one misbehaving in the attic right now!
4. Scott who puts up with me despite the things I do.
5. The ability to dsee the world. I think I've seen alot and then I pick up an atlas.
6. My father-in-law who is alive almost two years longer than anyone thought he would be.
7. My neighbors--they range in age from 25 to 90 and everyone of them has taught me something.
8. Wine with good friends is much better than good wine alone.
9. Chocolate. The darker the better. But just a little every day.
10. My body. I know I get just one and I am fighting the aging process HARD and daily.
11. The perfect sunny day and the time to thoroughly enjoy it.
12. Music--all types.
I kept a gratitude journal some years back...writing about something--anything--that I was thankful for each day. It was a great exercise--perhaps I'll start it up again. In the meantime, I'm grateful for:
ReplyDelete1) Second chances. I went a long ways in one direction, and it was the wrong one. Then I got to restart in the right one. I've learned a lot going each direction.
2) Kindred spirits. There are more of them out there than I ever imagined I'd find. And it is such a joy discovering one!
3) Generous hearts. In a world that often seems cold and self-centered, there are still some folks who would give you the shirt off their backs.
4) Toby Gerhart. After some lean years, Stanford is goin' to a bowl game! It won't be the Rose Bowl--but hey, it'll be a bowl of some kind!
5) Mid-life crises. (See #1 above) I'm grateful that I didn't hurt too many other people with mine, and eternally sorry for the ones I did.
6) The American Baptist Churches of the Rochester/Genesee Region. After feeling like I was nearly biting my tongue OFF, week in and week out, it is so good to find a home in a region where diversity is truly prized, and differences of opinion are celebrated. Pinch me!
7) Kendall...the first of my old school friends to reach out to me when I moved back, and made me feel so welcome. He's a generous, thoughtful, decent, and kind human being--and I'm grateful to be able to think of him as a friend. (You are okay too, Corey!)
8) Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
9) A nice home, a loving wife, meaningful employment, and a roomful of stringed instruments just waiting to make music whenever I pick them up. Why do I EVER complain about anything?
10) Faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.
I am thankful for
ReplyDelete1) For the air I just breathed into my lungs to get me through this moment in life.
2) For my daughter, my little firecracker, Emi. I am thankful for the opportunity to grow her and the ability to give her a chance at life and for each day to watch her grow beautiful. For Jenna. who is teaching me how to love outside of my skin but who becomes a part of me a bit more each day.
3) My Admiral. To be blessed with a man who is my sidekick and the one chosen for me to love, admire, and adore.
4) For my parents and my new parents..sooooo good! Family.
5) My job. During these hard times I am blessed in knowing that I am contributing to the future each day.
6)This home on 6.5 acres nestled in pine with a golden retriever who runs happily here and there.
7) My girlfriend, Erin. I have known her since elementary school and she has taught me so much life. She is my eternal friend. One that I can pick up the phone and call weeks later and never feel like we stopped talking.
8)Laughter and living and feeling all that is shown to me down here.
9) Knowing pain so that I could experience joy.
10) My Lord, Jesus. I am thankful for His constant companionship and knowing He is never far from me. I am thankful for His putting up with me and loving me unconditionally and never ever leaving me. It's so good! Through him all things are possible and no challenge is too great. Thank you Jesus!
Wait I have more!!!
ReplyDeleteyes......
music....but the kind that gets my soul pumping
chocolate
walking through cool wet green grass barefoot
fall leaves
summer sun
the military
the way Brian laughs when he is on a roll and the way he makes others laugh
health
money in my purse
groceries in my cupboard
heat running through the registers
wood for the fireplace
clothes
smiles
grace
faith
hope
forgiveness
realizing this life we live is just that....To be lived!
Happy Thanksgiving! God Bless!
1. The capacity to make choices; reflected in the best advice my mom ever gave me, "You can start over any time." Knowing that in my life's journey I can choose which paths to take, forsake or when to re-route myself.
ReplyDelete2. Being human-and all that entails, having a body, a mind, and breathe.
3. Being connected to other humans and the fact that the human shoulder is ironically shaped to fit the human head, proven everytime you give someone a hug.
4. The exchange of stories-literal and musical, the tapestry that weaves us together and gives us a deepr understanding of who we are.
5. My daughter and the honor bestowed upon me to be her mother. Nuff said
6. A life partner who no matter what, never quits on us. Nuff said.
7. My mom, a strong reminder of my roots and those who came before me.
8. Spirit-the quiet voice inside that reminds me of all the above.
I am thankful for all those things you all wrote, and I am thankful for;
ReplyDeleteThe warts that appeared on the bottom of my foot during my first divorce - God gave me something that I could handle easily through that stressful time.
For the cancer that woke me up to how toxic the relationship of my second marriage was, and that moved me to get out of it with a second divorce.
For the doctors and nurses that took care of my physical body.
For my sister whose love helped heal my spiritual body, and as a result, healed my physical body.
For my woman doctor friend who steered me to the Positive Immunity tapes that helped me get through 5 weeks of radiation with no side effects.
For my family, my church family, my neighborhood family and all the wonderful people who come into my life and give it light and love.
For all of God's creation. The LORD God, She made it all, and it is good.
God. His love, forgiveness & patience
ReplyDeleteBrian, Amanda & JP
Mom, Dad, Carl
Brilliant, hilarious, wonderful friends
Current soldiers & veterans
Folks working to improve the lives of women &
children around the globe (the only way to
eradicate terrorism)
Farmers, Teachers, Bus drivers
Firefighters, police officers, first responders
Nurses, doctors, medical researchers
Survivors
Therapists
Books
Music: captures a moment, escapes a memory,
celebrates a joy, share a heartache, relax
in the mundane
Phones, internet, Ipods
WBCC UCC & Corey for this platform to share
Peace & Blessings All, Jeanie
I wish i could think of something. it amazes me that so many people die who want to live and yet i continue to live when i don't want to. i'd be thankful for that.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to address your thoughts privately, if you'd consider e-mailing me at wbccpastor@rochester.rr.com, as I'm not sure who you are, but I'd like to help any way I can.
ReplyDeleteYour post reminds me of the South Carolina state motto "dum spiro spero," which translates:
While I breathe, I hope.
It represents a decision in a rock-bottom time to not only endure, but to truly live, using this next breath as best we can, and then the next, and then the next...
Whoever you are, I pray you will find that rail of hope and blessing that somehow runs solidly (though often obscured) through each of our lives, that you will grab hold of it and let it guide your steps up and out.
I have hope for you, and care and concern as well. Please reach out to me again.
We work so hard in our lives, trying to do right and to be truthful to our selves and the people we meet and touch thru out the years. Why do we have to fight and defend ourselves for doing and trying to do the correct things.
ReplyDeleteWe do work hard in our lives, trying to do right and making our mistakes, always trying to please everyone else, when we are not.
ReplyDeleteLoneliness is hard on my life, don't know how to reach out, but I keep looking at the sign "attitude of graditude" and today's sermon of hope. It is so hard, don't know how, where to start, keep asking God for help and guidance. Afraid to ask for help for fear of rejection. I know how that person feels that needs to hang on to that rail. Been thinking about that all day.
I hope that they hang on, like I am trying to.
I've been there too. The holidays can be a tough time for people who are lonely. Please hang in there. Reach out. There is no stigma to suffering emotionally. It is part of being human. So is seeking others to help you. So is helping others who need you. Don't hesitate. Don't put it off. There are caring others who want to help you get through your rough patches. Their kindness is yours for the asking.
ReplyDelete