Last November, I was participating in a thing on FaceBook where you listed something for which you were thankful each day in November. A lot of people I know were doing it and it was cool to see all the gratitude expressed online. It’s important to take time to appreciate what you have; it’s far too easy to focus on what you lack or what you want and to forget to be thankful.

As is common with such a project, people get busy and will sometimes post 2 or 3 days’ “thankful posts” at once, making up for recent missed days. I was in that situation last year when I had my heart attack. My last thankful post was about how my brother had prepared a delicious veggie sausage with portabella entrée along with his usual Thanksgiving fare, even though there would have been plenty of vegetarian side dishes for me and my small vegetarian contingent to eat. That was Day 28. I had 2 more days to make up for when my heart made me suddenly and quite intensely self-absorbed.

I don’t know if this is normal or not, but my heart attack has left me with a number of odd superstitions and anxieties. For example, I felt shaky and ill the first time that my family had pizza and watched something together in the basement after the heart attack. We had done that just a few minutes before the heart attack; inadvertently recreating the scenario weirded me out. I’m experiencing a similar irrational weirdness about my decision to do the thankfulness project again. I think it’s healthy to count your blessings and to face your fears, though, so voila! A month of giving thanks begins now.

It will also help provide me with a motivator to be more disciplined with making blog postings. That’s something to be thankful for right there.

~~~~~

Gratitude #1 Bloodless Transition of Power

Today is Election Day, so today I am reminded to be thankful for the gift of a bloodless transition of power in the United States. Our electoral system is not without problems, but it is based on the premise that those in government should be elected by the will of those they govern.

I read in history about many societies that did not enjoy this situation. Changes in government involved war, purges, and oceans of bloodshed – sometimes just that of the ruler but, more often, that of the governed. I have personally seen, closer up than I would have liked, the violence that springs from the governed having no voice. Turn on the news; we can see it every day.

So today I thank those who established a societal ideal that our citizenry shall elect our leaders. I am additionally grateful to champions that followed, whose strength and sacrifices in universal suffrage movements extended the vote to all of our citizenry, regardless of race or gender.

May we live up to the promise of our republic; remove the obstacles that still prevent many from their franchise; and elect a government “of the people, by the people, [and] for the people.”

~~~~~

PS. Don’t forget to vote!