2008 Woodie Awards
Count your blessings
by Liat Faver
Issue date: 2/25/08 Section: Opinion
I have a friend who complains all the time. I have another friend who complains about his friends complaining all the time. We all complain. We drone on about our cars, bills, jobs, relationships, families and so on. I like to beef about everything. I'm tired of hearing myself complain. What am I thinking?
I have a wonderful family, a lovely place to live, a good job, great friends and plenty to eat. I am healthy, live in a free country, and whenever I want to, I can pick up a phone or sit down at my computer and access the world without leaving the house. Or I can leave and go to a movie, have dinner served to me without having to wash the dishes, and so much more. I lead an amazing life. Almost everyone I know has a surplus of everything they need.
When I think of the life my mother and her mother had during the Depression, when they felt blessed to have a loaf of bread and some milk, I don't wonder why my grandmother used to save paper towels that had only been used once to dry clean hands. Mother still saves all kinds of things. She can't help it; it's part of her programming. All the drawings and paintings my sisters and I made when we were little, baby clothes, silly nothings; they're precious to her. I love this about my mother.
There are people who never have these problems. All over the world there are people with nothing to live in, no families to care for them, no food, no warm clothes. There are places where silence only happens between bombings and gunfire; a silence interrupted with the screams of the injured and dying. There are mothers who will never know the joy of watching their children grow and learn; fathers who won't know the pleasure of teaching a son to fish or play ball. Hunger, disease and death are daily fare for these folks. I can only imagine what kind of stamina it takes to endure life for some people.
I try to remind myself that when something isn't quite right, it isn't such a big deal. Life will continue in much the same way it always has. Sure, I've been hurt and disappointed, I've had failures and minor catastrophes, but I've always had ample food, clothing and a warm place to sleep. I've always had loving friends and family to help me through the tough times. But my tough times are a drop in the ocean compared to what others have had to bear.
The sun shines in a blue sky most days, and when the rains come, they're mild and refreshing. We have acres of things to be grateful for and folks to share them with. Isn't it wonderful how little we have to complain about?
I have a wonderful family, a lovely place to live, a good job, great friends and plenty to eat. I am healthy, live in a free country, and whenever I want to, I can pick up a phone or sit down at my computer and access the world without leaving the house. Or I can leave and go to a movie, have dinner served to me without having to wash the dishes, and so much more. I lead an amazing life. Almost everyone I know has a surplus of everything they need.
When I think of the life my mother and her mother had during the Depression, when they felt blessed to have a loaf of bread and some milk, I don't wonder why my grandmother used to save paper towels that had only been used once to dry clean hands. Mother still saves all kinds of things. She can't help it; it's part of her programming. All the drawings and paintings my sisters and I made when we were little, baby clothes, silly nothings; they're precious to her. I love this about my mother.
There are people who never have these problems. All over the world there are people with nothing to live in, no families to care for them, no food, no warm clothes. There are places where silence only happens between bombings and gunfire; a silence interrupted with the screams of the injured and dying. There are mothers who will never know the joy of watching their children grow and learn; fathers who won't know the pleasure of teaching a son to fish or play ball. Hunger, disease and death are daily fare for these folks. I can only imagine what kind of stamina it takes to endure life for some people.
I try to remind myself that when something isn't quite right, it isn't such a big deal. Life will continue in much the same way it always has. Sure, I've been hurt and disappointed, I've had failures and minor catastrophes, but I've always had ample food, clothing and a warm place to sleep. I've always had loving friends and family to help me through the tough times. But my tough times are a drop in the ocean compared to what others have had to bear.
The sun shines in a blue sky most days, and when the rains come, they're mild and refreshing. We have acres of things to be grateful for and folks to share them with. Isn't it wonderful how little we have to complain about?
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