Today, July 23, is a day I choose to celebrate a day of thanksgiving. A day for me to specifically take time to express gratitude for life’s significant blessings of good health, the love of family, and the joy of sharing time with friends.
It is also a day I celebrate the blessing of those individuals that make up the bits and pieces of everyday life and make it pleasant. The barista that takes the time to learn your name, the unflappable postmaster that always treats everyone with respect no matter how many customers stand in his line, the highly skilled mechanic that can always be counted on to treat you fair and fix it well, the hard-working client who always greets the challenges of each day, and you, with a smile. They make more of a difference in the world than they know.
Acts of human kindness and goodness may have been a bit easier to perform a few decades ago when we lived in closer community with one another and economic conditions made life a bit less stressful. In a time when 40 hour workweeks have become 45 or 50 hour workweeks, when we fear for our jobs and our future, trust and a positive outlook is more difficult, but what makes a life worthy of living.
Today I hope to demonstrate my gratitude by sharing small kindnesses with others; to spend less time watching negative news and more time in nature, where I refresh my soul. To spend at least five minutes today just counting my blessings. Oh, and to spend less time paying attention to “time,” period.