Sunday Morning Musings

A few inches of snow fell during the night with snow showers still dusting the countryside this morning.  As I made my morning rounds I paused for a moment to capture this peaceful rural scene.

On the way to the farm I helped extricate our neighbor lady's car from the road ditch.  While on her way to church she had spun out and slid off the road.  A good push on the front fender while she gently backed up was all it took to get her turned around and headed safely home.  Continuing to the farm and tending the cattle I had plenty of time to think about some of the things I have to be thankful for.

I am thankful for my family, those that are with us and those who have passed on.  Each one in their own way has influenced my life and made my time here richer.

I am thankful for the lifestyle that I am able to lead; thankful for not having to get up and drive a long commute each morning, thankful for the farm that my grandparents bought in the 1920's and retained while struggling through the depression.

I am thankful that I live in a peaceful country, a place where I don't have to worry about war or  paramilitaries invading my home, taking our belongings, and destroying our lives. I'm thankful for a warm home with plenty of comforts and food.

I am thankful for our good neighbors who are always a pleasure to chat with and who we can always depend on to give us aid and moral support during times of hardship.  And that goes both ways.

I am thankful for the career that I had and the various jobs that I held.  Each job and the coworkers influenced me and enriched my life.

I am thankful for the hardships that I have faced.  While hardship is never pleasant to go through, the hardships test us and teaches us to make better life choices in the future.

When I think of all the things that I have to be thankful for I realize that so much of what I am thankful for are things that I had no choice in.  These are things to be truly thankful for rather than proud of.

None of us chose what family we were born into, we didn't choose what race we are, we didn't chose what religious tradition our family taught us, or what socioeconomic group we are born into.  Not one of us had a choice in whether we were born black in an underdeveloped country, a mixed race person born in a so called shit hole country, or being so fortunate as to be a white American.

None us us had any choice about our birth but we do have a choice in how we live our lives.  We can either choose to be thankful for what we have and treat others as Jesus commanded "you shall love your neighbor as yourself"  or we can stand up, beat our chest proudly and vilify those who are less fortunate than we.