I think only in the last ten years has it really dawned on me how blessed/lucky I have been in my life. This really has made me a happier person, and we all need more of this kind of thinking. We are constantly looking at how other people may have something better, but that does nothing but make us miserable. I try to pass this understanding of our privileged situation to my kids, but not surprisingly, it doesn’t take hold.
I know I could make a long list of how blessed I have been, but I will mention something smaller. I went to the dentist yesterday, and the end he said “You are blessed with great teeth, I am envious.”
For my teeth I do the minimum. I brush twice a day, don’t floss, and go to the dentist regularly. No cavities, no problems. I put in minimum effort, but get great results. I love it.
So sit back and think about you and your life. Now consider others within your group of friends, within your country, or even globally. How have you been blessed?
I was born in the the US, and am a white, heterosexual, gender-typical male. There are literally billions of people in the world who are worse off than me. I am thankful every day for my blessings.
I get along with my family. My brother and I are best friends. I go to my parents’ house regularly to hang out (and get free food). My parents don’t shower me with money but I know they’re a strong backup if I ever fall on hard times. I even get along well with my aunts and uncles and cousins.
I’m always reading stories on here about other posters who aren’t so blessed to be close with their family. I can’t even imagine being in that situation, it must be very hard.
I, too have apparently won the genetic dental lottery. I take about the same amount of care for my teeth as the OP, except I visit the dentist only about twice a decade, and I’ve never had a cavity, cracked or broke anything, my cleanings are extremely quick, and every time I see him, my dentist looks at the date of my last checkup and says he’s certain he’s going to be dealing with a mouth of horrors, and every time he gets nothin’.
I have Asperger’s Syndrome. Of course autism is a spectrum, but for me this meant I had social difficulties and preferred to spend time alone concentrating on something.
Fortunately this meant I got a good job as a computer programmer and became an internationally rated chess player.
I live in a beautiful part of the country. I have a talented wife who adores me and who I adore. Even though way past 50, neither of need prescription medication of any kind on a regular basis. Our children are doing well. We have a great dog. I like my job and it pays wells. Best of all, we have a boat.
On the subject of gratefullness and blessings of life, I’d like to offer a video that caught my attention many years ago. It was presented at a Ted talk by Louie Schwartzberg, the cinematographer who created it. Schwartzberg’s introduction of the video is pleasant enough, but the video itself is really the focus, so I’ll leave the link here, cued to start at 4:25:
The narrator, David Steindl Rast, is a Benedictine monk whose life’s work appears to have been about learning what it takes to be happy - and he seems to have landed on cultivating a sense of gratefulness for all the good things in one’s life. Think about all the good things in your own life - right down to mundane things like clean, drinkable hot and cold water flowing in abundance from the taps in your house - and realize how good you’ve got it compared to most of the people who are alive (or have ever lived).
Like manson1972, the circumstances of my birth - the family I was born to, and the genes and environment around me that conferred relatively good physical/mental health and a strong intellect - afforded me opportunities that most people in the world don’t have, and equipped me to take advantage of those opportunities. Taken together with a good measure of luck that has brought me unscathed through some events in my life that could have turned out far worse…I have been blessed with an awful lot to be thankful for.
I’m lucky to live in the bay area of California, a beautiful place. We even own our own home here (or at least we rent it from the bank), which is quite a thing for this overpriced area.
I love being in Silicon Valley and being involved with the dynamic, fast-changing world of tech. Some new thing is always being discussed, revealed, upgraded or improved upon. When we retire to a slower-paced area, it’s going to be quite an adjustment.
I have access to all of the good things mentioned upthread: clean water, enough food, stable government which allows secure living and healthy commerce, and the ability to get into a four-wheeled vehicle and go places.
A miracle took me off from the streets of Seattle many years ago-her name is Marla.
Another miracle took me off the streets of despair and taught me that it is possible to give my heart and soul away more than once in a lifetime-her name is Renee and she is, now and forever, My Beloved.
I have great kids. I have beautiful grandkids. My home is nice and comfortable. Mr.Wrekker doesn’t mind my crazy, in fact i think he kinda likes it.
My dog #1 and #2 are my soul. Love them mutts!
Now we get to the Siamese. They are be,-ootiful! Sleek, silky with velvet brown ears and sparkly blue eyes. I am required to compliment their beauty and brains several times, daily. Don’t tell them I said so, but, they are a royal pain in the butt! Love them kitties, but, jeez how much can one girl do? They control my every moment. Even the dogs know to wait patiently while I deal with their many demands. It’s sad really. I still feel lucky to have them. Go figure.;).
I love these kinds of threads!
I am thankful for many things, first and foremost my family.
One that has recently come to mind is my job and all of the people I have had the honor to work with over the years. Been in emergency services for thirty years and in the same place for twenty plus. When I started, I was the young kid who never did anything right and trouble found me no matter how hard I tried to hide. I wasn’t alone, there were several of us that suffered from the same affliction. Each year I watched as people left and newer people came on board, yet I still felt like the new “kid” for a long time. Recently I took some time to reflect and realized that all of the people that came before me left an impression on me that steered me to where I am now. While I’m not the eccentric billionaire that I wanted to be growing up, I am respected in my field and can provide for my family. For each and every person that came before me, I am truly thankful. I have been trying to contact as many of these people as I can to thank them, and am doing my best to do the same for the people that came after me.
I am fortunate to have a good paying job, in an interesting field, with co-workers who respect me.
Three years ago I left a job that was increasingly feeling like a dead end, with not enough pay for my living situation, not enough benefits to make up for the pay, and a company with a future consisting of many layoffs, eventually working its way to me.
I suppose my biggest lucky break was having a double bypass operation when I was 50.
Because, the alternative would have been not catching the problem in time, and having a massive heart attack. Also, it’s been a big incentive to keep myself in excellent condition.
I could have written this, and of all the blessings I have, this is probably one of the biggest.
I’ve never had a noteworthy dispute with any member of my immediate family, and we just get along tremendously well (and, really, always have). Even my sister and I, who fought constantly as kids, have found a strong, close relationship as adults. And, I have some awesome cousins, aunts, and uncles on both my mother’s and my father’s sides.
When I need reminds of these blessings, I don’t have to look very far. Half of my wife’s family is petty, bickering, and clearly suffering from undiagnosed and untreated emotional and mental issues. My best friend hasn’t spoken with her mother in 25 years. Many of my other friends are distant (or completely estranged) from close family members.
Growing up, I probably didn’t realize just how lucky I was. Now, I do. So, thank you.
In so many ways, of which I have been aware since I did therapy almost 30 years ago.
I was born in the US, white male (gay, but there are ways I consider that a blessing in spite of cultural difficulties growing up). My parents worked very hard at everything, and if they didn’t always succeed in expressing the more tender emotions to me, they showed me the example of a long, loving relationship between themselves. I grew up intelligent in a home that valued that trait. I have had a few small hardships in my life, that made me appreciate the rest all the more.
More recently, I worked for a company for 34 years that had an effective pension plan. I have been with my husband for over 26 years, and that isn’t perfect either but we rub along well together. My father left me (and my sister) enough money to make my retirement much easier, and left it equally so that we had nothing to argue about. My sister and I have a very good relationship, which seems to be better from the fact that it is mostly at a distance. I am reasonably healthy (that would be a lot better if I took better care of myself, another story) and unlikely to go without anything important for the rest of my life.
I too enjoy these kinds of threads. I try to stay aware of my good fortune, so that it is harder for me to discount or forget my own privileges, and so I am more inclined to give back.
10 out of the 11 males on my dad’s side of the family have had either heart attacks or stents in place by age 50. I am #11. I’m 51, absolutely “asking for it” when you look at lifestyle risk factors, and so far … nothing. Still, I’m keeping things in order.
As for everything else in my life, well, everything could be worse. And that, I know, represents a million little blessings.
Even with the loss of several close relatives over the past five years, including one of my kids this year, I still feel like I won some sort of fate lottery throughout the course of my life. I’ve been to a large part of the world and seen how people have to live, and I feel fortunate to have had a roof over my head and food on my table all these years.
