With Thanksgiving 2013 just a day away, and coming off of the loss of one of our beloved kitties, we are working hard to focus on all that we have, because most all of us, likely you included, have lots to be thankful for.
Are you having a hard time being thankful this year? Has the crappy side of life thrown you some tough stuff this year, and it’s been difficult for you to see the positive side of life? I understand, as we’ve had our own fair share of crap to deal with this year. So, for my own sake, and hoping it will bring joy to you as well, I’ve put together some stats about what people might have to be thankful for. Hope you enjoy them.
I am thankful for:
1. A warm place to sleep at night. According to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, roughly 1, 750,000 Americans are homeless right now. I am thankful today that every single day, we’ve got a warm place to live and sleep, and that living outside, whether tent camping or whatever, is a choice for my family and I, and not a stark reality.
2. Plenty of food to eat. From World Hunger: ” The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that nearly 870 million people of the 7.1 billion people in the world, or one in eight, were suffering from chronic undernourishment in 2010-2012. I am thankful that every single day we’ve got food to eat. It may not be the fanciest food, but we never go without.
3. Friends and family. Years ago, I knew a guy who would often spend Christmas and Thanksgiving all alone. Sometimes he’d go to a movie, but mostly he’d hang out by himself at his apartment. He’d been raised in a broken home, mom and dad were both dead due to tragic circumstances, there was a much older half brother who he didn’t know very well, and the grandparents who’d raised him had passed on. Being a great guy but a bit insecure (understandably), he wasn’t always the greatest at developing and maintaining close relationships, therefore he would often be forgotten on holidays, although there were years that people remembered and invited him.
This year, I am choosing to be thankful for all of the people in my life, whether or not they drive me up the wall. 🙂
4. Choices. Living in America, we have lots and lots of choices. The large majority of us can choose to earn money, or to not earn money, through the many, many opportunities here in America. We can choose (for now, anyway) the religion of our choice, or choose no religion at all. We can choose between more than two sets of clothing. We can choose which pair of shoes to wear today. We can choose, most of us, to go places or stay home. We can choose between several different brands/types of whatever it is that we need or want to buy at the store. We have enough opportunities and choices in this great nation that by and large we don’t have to be “under our circumstances” but instead, can choose to conquer them.
Know too that we in the Frugal Farmer family are very, very thankful for all of you. Your faithfulness, encouragement and support of our site and our mission to live a debt-free, simplified life mean so very much to us, and help us to keep on going each and every day as we strive toward financial independence and a self-sufficient life. Thank you, so much, for that, and have a happy, happy Thanksgiving.
What do you have to be thankful for?
