Top Ten Things To Be Grateful About Every Day

Photography by Maxie

The following is by Dennis R. Tesdell

This list seems very basic.  Yet not everyone in this country or in the world has, or will be able to be grateful for, all of these things.  In their life some of these things do not exist now, nor  have they ever existed.

 1.  Waking up alive

George Burns once said a great day for him was waking up and not seeing candles, a church, and his friends all dressed in black.  He was blessed financially and health wise.  Many, in this country and in other countries, are lucky to make it to the age of 10, let alone 100.

 2.  Decent Air To Breath

While everyone has this, in some places in the world, the air is so polluted and foul smelling, the people die of respiratory ailments just from breathing.

 3. A New Day To Learn and To Earn A Livelihood

Most of us live in areas with low - medium unemployment rates.  If we choose and need to work and have a job, we can earn money daily or weekly *somehow*.  Others are in school or educational environments.  They can learn or increase what they already know.  Many people have no jobs and will never have a chance to learn a basic education.

 4.  A Home In Which To Eat, Sleep, Live, and Relax

We are blessed if we are not one of the millions of people whose home consists of a car, an abandoned house or building, cardboard or tin constructed "shelters," or the bare earth or grass.  Think about pictures you may have seen of the homeless when you complain about your home or apartment being too cold or warm, or the utility bill being too high.

 5.  Ample Clean Food To Eat & The Option To Buy As Much As We Need

Most of us never have experienced waiting in line 2-6 hours to buy a loaf of bread, someflour, eggs, etc.  We don't know what it is like to wait for a truck to pull up and hand out boxes or containers of rice or Red Cross rations.  We've never dug in dumpsters behind a grocery store or restaurant to get food that was thrown out to have for our daily meal.  Food is expensive for many.  At least in the U.S. we have no lack of it and it is not rationed out to us or sold at black market prices.

 6.  Friends, Family and Pets

Most all of us have one or more of these three things in our life.  In some parts of the country and the world, people are alone andyoung children are alone.  And the "pet" may have to end up feeding a family or a group of people due to lack of any other food supply.  We spend more money on the food and vet bills for our pets than many people in poor countries Make in income in a period of 1-3 years.

 7.  Living In A Democratic Society

Not talking or pushing politics.  But we are free to pretty much do and say what we wish as covered by the Bill of Rights.  And we don't have tanks and armed soldiers walking the streets 24 hours a doay looking for looters, guerillas and terrorists.  (The terrorists breaching our country's security, on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, in New York, were not Americans!) Life and government isn't at all perfect here.  But it sure beats anything elso I have see or read about in my lifetime.

 8.  Abundant Natural Resources

Yes we need to clean up our water and air, and plant more trees, ect.  But we do have in our towns, water and sewage control that are sanitary to use and maintained better then in many other countries int he world.  We also have ample supplies of electricity, gas, and other resources we need to live and thrive personally and industrially.

 9.  Clothing To Protect Us From The Elements & Enhance Our Appearance

True, there are places in the U.S. where people in poverty lack adequate clothing.  Compared to our population, however, the majority of us have adequate clothes, and many of us have clothing that is both functional and attractive as well.

10.  The Gift Of Choice

This is something everyone has no matter where they live.  Even if they live in a poor non-democratic society, we all have the choice to make decisions, to act, and to be however we wish, as adults at least.  This was given us at birth and is never taken away, but is often taken for granted, ignored, or not fully developed or used. 

Dennis R. Tesdell is an experienced personal development and self-care coach as well as an author.