Take time to count blessings

There’s just one thing wrong with Thanksgiving.
That’s the fact that we celebrate it only once a year.
Fact is, day in and day out there’s so much to be thankful for that we fail to see it.
So, this year, how about making a list? Here’s one:
•The sight of Orion in the pitch-black sky of a crisp November morning.
•The smell of coffee at breakfast.
•The sound of your car starting up on the first turn of the key.
•Co-workers.
•Old friends.
•New friends.
•The satisfaction that comes when a problem is solved or a task is completed.
•Birds at the backyard feeder.
•A good night’s sleep.
•Laughter.
•More laughter.
•The laughter of children.
•Singing in the shower.
•A silent moment with your own thoughts.
•A poem or song or work of art that touches your soul.
•Finding the right word to say to a friend in need.
•The generosity of the human spirit, even in the face of humanity’s shortcomings.
•Trading smiles with a stranger.
•Handel’s “Messiah,” the Goldberg Variations and the bass line that opens Weather Report’s version of “Birdland.”
•Jonathan Winters, Ernie Kovacs, Robert Benchley, James Thurber and P.G. Wodehouse.
•Grandchildren.
•Grandparents.
•Parents.
•Parental advice, even if it was not appreciated at the time it was delivered.
•Walks in the park.
•Mountains.
•Valleys.
•Beaches.
•And oceans that take your breath away.
•Learning.
•Teaching.
•That moment when you finally understand what someone else has been trying to tell you.
•Compromise.
•Principle.
•Principled compromise.
•Dreams and the ability to dream.
•The amazing human machinery with its circulatory system, nervous system, digestive system and ability to keep us moving down the road.
•Imagination.
•Optimism.
•Empathy.
•Hope.
You get the picture.
There is so much to be thankful for every day, in each moment of our existence, that when you take the time to reflect, all the negatives, all the pettiness, all the irritations seem pretty miniscule in comparison.
And if it takes a special day on the calendar to realize that simple fact, then let’s make the most of it. —J.R.[[In-content Ad]]