Giving Thanks

This is the time of year where everyone starts to list the things they feel thankful for.  But, shouldn't that be an on-going, year-long process?  Kind of like appreciating our veterans and service men & women shouldn't be confined to Veteran's Day and our love shouldn't be confined to Valentines Day?

I feel we should truly give thanks each and every day, even for little things.  Last night really got me thinking about it.  As I went to hang some clothes in my closet, I realized I was sick and tired of struggling with the curtain that doubles as my closet door.  I thought "I'll deal with it this weekend" and, to the best of my abilities, tried to shove the curtain to one side.  The curtain and the rod caught wind of my intention to remove them and decided to conspire against me.  The plastic cap on one end of the rod popped off and the rod launched up and out, and directly into the bridge of my nose.  After a moment of cursing out the pain and wondering if my nose would be swollen, I headed into the bathroom to survey the damage in the mirror.  Blood was streaked up my face and a crescent moon shaped laceration adorned the bridge of my nose.  At first, I was irritated.  Then, I took a deep breath and thanked my lucky stars.

It took a matter of seconds for me to realize, that had it landed a few inches to the left or the right, the rod could have done some serious damage to one of my eyes.  I was still wearing my contacts at the time; there would have been no glasses in the way to protect them.  That realization calmed me right down.  Cursing the pain ceased, being thankful took over.

It also got me to thinking about past events.  My brother was visiting Japan when they were devastated by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami.  During that time, I learned a great deal about being thankful.  I realized last night that, since that time, there have been a number of lapses in my thankfulness.  Lapses where I chose to feel self pity and feel defeated.  Lapses where I focused on the bad instead of the good.  Today, I am starting fresh and focusing on everything I have to be thankful for.  I implore you to do the same.