I winge a lot. I complain about pains and irritations, stupidity and misplaced energy. It's a trap, of course, and I know it. So, well, I want to make more of a habit of gratitude. Because, I have deep wells full of reasons to be grateful.
I am grateful I was sent to catholic school. I got a solid education and subversive reasoning skills that inoculated me against irrational religious beliefs, and an appreciation for irony.
I am grateful for the manipulative and abusive ex, who taught me many invaluable negative lessons, and got me to Utah needing a second job. Which led me to D, with the eyes to appreciate an emerald in cammo.
I am grateful to have a good, living wage, secure job, that I enjoy more than not. A roof over my head, clothes on my back, food on the table. I do not take any of this for granted.
I am grateful, and deeply humbly so, that ours was one of only a few basement apartments in this building not to have our doors open, lights on, fans blowing sour fetid air, from saturated walls and flooded carpets, into the hallway at 0600 Monday morning. We did nothing to deserve to be spared. That we were largely packed for the move in two weeks would have made it, in some ways, easier for us. We did pass on the card of our beloved rental agent to our neighbor.
I am grateful to have a calm, mellow and affectionate cat, who sleeps on my ankles, and comes to sit close to us, or equidistant from us. That he has never scratched us, nor bit us, and that his worst habit is a bit of "thinking outside the box" usually in the tub or on the bathroom floor. Easily cleanable, and keeps him from being perfect. He has become the soul of our home, and keeps us both cheerful and calm.
I am grateful that although I have some painful problems, my health is actually fine, with no serious issues.
I am grateful that D and I amuse each other so. After 15 years, we are each other's favorite comedians. We have needed it. We know where each others buttons are, and only press the funny ones.
I am grateful for friends who are decent, honorable, kind and funny people. Beyond words I appreciate each unique, eccentric, dear one.
I am grateful for each breath.
16 comments:
This is just lovely, Zhoen. Many years ago I was advised to make a gratitude list on a regular basis. I don't do it enough and you have given me a prod. I might even blog about it at some point if you don't mind ....
Mary,
No, sorry, I mind. No one can be grateful except me. (Huff)
(heheheeee)
I'll give you full credit, I promise. I'll say I'm grateful to you for the idea.....
*grin*
I'm grateful you wrote this. (No huffing, please).
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I went to Catholic school, too, but I'm grateful that I was not inoculated against an appreciation for irony.
As this comment no doubt demonstrates.... :-)
(o)
sys.admin_error,
The power of a misplaced comma. I really gotta learn to write.
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Awarded for services rendered.
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qI am grateful for the huge smiles this piece gave me for oh so many different reasons.
...and I am grateful for strange yptos that appear out of nowhere for no apparent reason.
This is wonderful. A simple collection of reasons for gratitude - something I should probably consider assessing in my own life as well.
I am grateful for bloggers who are amusing, postive and perceptive. Keep breathing.
I'm grateful that you find time for blogging, because you're always a thoughtful and interesting read...
and I'm grateful for the giggles in the above comments!
Gratitude, I have found, can be a very powerful thing.
Thank you for the reminder.
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