During this month of Thanksgiving, many of my friends in cyber space are participating in an exercise of “30 Days of Thanks” and I am enjoying, every morning when I log on to the internet, reading their stories of their sadnesses and their joys,  but I am particularly enjoying that each day they are all forcing themselves to reflect on what is good in their lives and for what they are grateful.  It is so easy to go through the motions of life; the day in and day out and sameness of living and working and taking care of houses and children and parents and obligations, that we get consumed with our tasks and duties and don’t often stop to ponder any of the good in any of it.

I know some, and know of some, who have so much and don’t seem to appreciate any, and I know some and know of some who have so very little, and appreciate all of it.  I think it is so important to be thankful for all of the good, even if it is minimal, or to some, rather insignificant, because it could, due to weather or misfortune or accidents or bad choices or death, be gone in a wink.

It’s hard sometimes for sure to see your glass as half full when so many you know, or know about, have glasses that are running over.  It only takes a half hour at 6:30 with Brian Williams to be reminded that your glass, compared to much of the rest of the world, is in fact running over and that you even have a glass is a REALLY big deal.  We live in a world of tabloid magazines and reality television shows, that even if we don’t watch them or read them, we know about these people- their big lives are overflowing and examined; their big houses, their big engagement rings, their big weddings, their big parties, their big car collections, their big vacations, their big EVERYthings…that what we have can begin to feel so small…

It’s dark so early this time of the year I’ve started to watch more television than I usually do.  I’ve tried to watch some of what is “popular” and find I can’t handle more than a few minutes at a time…I could not even catch the Kardashian’s let alone keep up with them, I could if I was married BE a real housewife, but there was nothing REAL about any of the ones I saw, regardless of the states in which they lived, I could say Yes to the dress, but it would not be one that cost the same number of dollars that I spend in a year, or two, on my mortgage…I imagine if I were to start watching this kind of television regularly it would be too easy to compare my existence to one that is completely unattainable.

Instead I continue to choose to watch the news each night, and for a half hour I am reminded that I have so much to be thankful for, so much to be grateful for; there is so much that is terrible in this world, that a half hour of news makes even the most simple life seem positively fantastic, and usually the last news segment is one of those “feel good” stories where I learn about a “regular” person who does or did something extraordinary and ALWAYS for somebody else…I’m thankful for everything that is good in my life and I am thankful too for all of the things that have not been very good, as those experiences and upsets and hardships are part of the path that has gotten me this far.  I suppose in the realm of things I am most thankful that I have the good sense to be thankful, and for all of my friends in cyber space who do too, and who are making themselves reflect on all that is wonderful in their worlds, I am thankful to be in your company…even if we are never in the same room…