As another year dawns upon me, I sit in my room and realize that although I do not have my health, I still have plenty to be thankful for. In the midst of world suffering, I use my birthday as a time to celebrate and be thankful for all the small things in life, the things that go unnoticed on a normal day. We have to remember it's the small things in life that truly matter.
I just finished reading a book about the wars in Sudan and the troubles that have been taking place since the eighties. The book was an autobiography told by a lost boy. Stories of eye opening yet horrific measure. Things he saw ranged from entire villages being burned (buildings, homes, people) to mass murders to a man with a face skinned off still alive and walking, bombs falling from the sky landing upon fellow lost boys, etc. The list goes on for quite a while and all of it happened just inches before him. Countless times Sudanese were shot and killed at his feet, his friends dying by his side of starvation and dysentery. I was planning to delve into the book later in another post, I am just referring to the book now to make a point about how bad a situation can be. And with all the natural disasters occurring across the world such as floods, fires, earthquakes, tornadoes; innumerable families have been misplaced and left without a home, without a roof over their head.
I write today to express how thankful I am for everything I DO have. So I don't have my health, and that is a big part of living a life, but I do have a whole lot more than others. My suffering is greatly reduced due to the fact that I am lucky enough to have a nice house to live in. I have my own room and bed to sleep in, my own computer to type this on and research and learn things, television to entertain my mind, books to keep me company, a car to take me around town and alleviate me of my boredom, family that loves me unconditionally and supports me, and friends that make sure I am okay. I have food that keeps me fat, flowers that keep me happy, music that has a song for each and every one of my moods and emotions, an iPod to play all of my music, clothes and blankets to keep me warm, ceiling fans to keep me cool, air conditioning to keep me whatever temperature I want to be, an electric fireplace to keep me really warm really fast, a Netflix account to watch all the documentaries ever made, and a Wii to watch my Netflix movies. I even have indoor plumbing. And I am thankful for each and everyone of these things, objects, comfort, family, friends, love, life, all the small things. I thought my situation was bad, but it could without a doubt be horribly worse.
My point is it's my birthday, I'm 24, and I am very thankful to still be alive. I am very thankful for everything around me, everything I use, everything that keeps me happy. If I were to feel as though I am in a horrible situation than I would feel selfish. There are so many people suffering all over the world, dying just because they lack clean drinking water. I have clean drinking water, I actually have filtered water that comes out of the door of my refrigerator. I am so lucky to have all of these things, that lacking health is just a small downfall. Don't get me wrong I would give all this up in a heartbeat to have good health, because what is life without health? But that is not what I think about. I think about how I am lucky enough to enjoy the things around me, I am lucky enough to have a roof over my head, and blankets keeping me warm, and clean water to keep me refreshed. Minus my health, I still have quite a lot and I am very thankful for it all.
So remember to be mindful of the little things around you, and thankful for what others have not. Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful. Thank you for reading and thank you for the birthday wishes and all the love and support. Peace be with you!
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