Thankfulness @ MindSay

We all do it. Standing in line. Slowpoke in front of you on a two lane highway. Late for work/school. Bored. Computer issues. Children/spouse/parent  issues. Bosses/employees. Let's face it, during the next 24 hours there is bound to be something that will irritate or stress us out. We have all heard that we cannot change others and sometimes not even the circumstances themselves, but we can change ourselves and our reactions, right?

In order to make my life more of a attitude of gratitude I have decided to STOP, take a deep breath and think of the positive of the situation that I am, something to be grateful about.

< insert live in progress example  > Just as I typed this, my two 15 week old puppies were chewing on a bone under my chair. Or so I thought. Apparently the added flavor of the little scatter rug adds to the fun. It is now a stringy mess in that one section. Initial and usual response... "argh... now it's ruined!" turned to..."(deep breath) At least it wasn't the hardwood floor, and I am so glad I have these puppys to enjoy" < end of life example >

Ok, so not every situation will be as easy as that. And I may end up half way thru my normal response before I remember to even breathe. But this is my intention for the week. Anyone care to join me? By practicing gratitude and positive thinking stress won't have room to take root in my mind, body or soul.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is fair, whatever is pure, whatever is acceptable, whatever is commendable, if there is anything of excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy-keep thinking about these things.-Philippians 4:8 International Standard version

Love and Laughter,

            The toilet is broken in the International Space Station.  It’s not polite to speak of the bodily functions that make such devices necessary, but I’m sure we’ll all agree on one thing: we can’t ignore the need for them!

            The fact that this toilet is malfunctioning is a bit humorous to me, although I don’t mean I’m not sympathetic with the plight of earthlings so far out in space without a way of making sure they’re, um, comfortable.  Why humorous?  Because with all the amazing intelligence and technology that has been utilized to make it possible for people to live in space while in orbit around the earth, none of that matters much when it comes to this particular issue.  If this isn’t fixed, there will be no people on the space station. 

            I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been thankful for a working toilet.  I think I should be.  I should also be thankful for the clean water that I have to drink and—should I be even more basic than this?—the ability to breathe.

            Jesus made everything.  Not only that, He holds everything together.  (Which is a great relief in light of what we’ve learned about quantum physics!)  No, He didn’t make toilets, but He gave us the ability to invent and manufacture them.  The Bible says, “But now at last, God sent his Son to bring his message to us. God created the universe by his Son, and everything will someday belong to the Son.  God’s Son has all the brightness of God’s own glory and is like him in every way.  By his own mighty word, he holds the universe together.”

            I am too much an unthankful man.  May you and I both take steps to give Jesus thanks for all that is, for all that we see—and don’t see—for all that we have.

This is a bit disturbing.  If you have the resources, please consider being generous in your giving to those who are hungry, if the need arises in the coming days.

On another note: Have we been thankful to God for such an extraordinary time of good weather?

From analyst John Mauldin:

A Black Swan in Food

“Donald Coxe, chief strategist of Harris Investment Management and one of my favorite analysts, spoke at my recent Strategic Investment Conference. He shared a statistic that has given me pause for concern as I watch food prices shoot up all over the world.

North America has experienced great weather for the last 18 consecutive years, which, combined with other improvements in agriculture, has resulted in abundant crops. According to Don, you have to go back 800 years to find a period of such favorable weather for so long a time.

Yet food stocks in corn, wheat, rice, etc. are dangerously low. We are just one bad weather season from a potential worldwide food disaster. And Dennis Gartman has been pointing out almost daily how far behind US farmers are in getting their corn crops planted, due to bad weather:

‘… the corn crop really is behind schedule. Corn is not like wheat. Wheat can survive drought; it can survive cold; wheat, as we were taught by our mentor, Mr. Melvin Ford, many years ago, is a weed. It is an amazing, resilient plant. But corn is temperamental; it needs rain when it needs rain; it needs dry conditions when it needs dry conditions. It needs to not be hit by early season frost, or it will suffer, and it needs a rather archly set number of days to grow. Each day lost at the front end of the planting/growing season puts pressure upon the corn plant to finish its job before the autumn frosts, and puts increased soybean acreage and decreased corn acreage before us.

‘The maps of the Midwest this morning have it raining once again, with more rain likely over the weekend. There will be some field work done in some areas, of course, but the several straight days of corn planting that everyone had hoped for simply are not going to take place. The ethanol mandates may be in jeopardy in the long run, but in the short run, this year's corn crop is swiftly becoming problematic ... and short.’

I had a note from a reader relating the experience of a member of his family. The gentleman runs a rather large feed lot in West Texas. He is running half the cattle he normally does, as he is losing money on every head he sells. Ranchers are reducing their herds, as they cannot afford to feed them due to high grain prices.

The same thing is happening with chickens. Producers are losing money on every chicken they sell, and they have to reduce inventories; thus meat of all types has not risen as much as the cost of producing it.

This means sometime this fall supplies of meat of all types are going to be reduced, but demand will not. And that means that meat prices have the potential to rise substantially during an election season. Maybe someone will point out that using corn to produce ethanol has the unwanted and unintended consequence of driving up food prices all over the world. It is not the sole source, but it is significant.

And when we finally experience a year of bad weather (whether too much rain or too little, too cold or too hot, it will be blamed on global warming), food supplies and prices are going to skyrocket. And a developing world will not look kindly on the US and Europe's use of food for fuel when so many are starving. Don says that this is not a matter of if, but when.”

Irving Berlin's Count your Blessings was one of the songs last night and I confess I have done that when i could not sleep. Here is last nights A-Z of blessings:

A abigail

B bread to eat

C continued health

D democracy

E education

F funny husband

G girlfriends

H holly hedges

I intuition

J Judaism

K kitchen

L love

M material comforts

N neighbors

O olive oil

P Portland

Q questioning rights
R religious freedom
S Sillyness
T thoughtfulness
U understanding
V virtual relationships
W whirlpools
X xtapa
Y young people
Z zabaglione

We're all familiar with the glass half full / half empty metaphor, yes?  Well, what is that about?  It's about perspective.  If one looks at the circumstance from the top, looking down, the glass will appear to be half empty.  If, however, one looks from the bottom, looking up, the glass will appear half full.   

This same principle is true in other realms as well.  How many of us look at our lives and see a lack of some sort.  Maybe we have bills that are unpaid.  Maybe we have parents / children / spouses who misunderstand us.  Maybe ... well ... there are any number of "maybe's".  Maybe ... there is some big obstacle glaring at us.  All we can see is  ... this thing, this lack.  We can cry about it, bitch about it, pray about it ... and most of the time, when we get up the next morning, it's still there.   

There is only one way around it, over it, through it.  We must change our perspective.  If we're looking from the top down, all we're going to see is the emptiness.  Somehow, we have to adjust our vision so that we're looking up.   

For example, if our "obstacle" is money (or the lack thereof), it should be easy for us to re-position ourselves by thinking about the vast numbers of homeless in our city ... perhaps in our neighborhood.  There is always someone who has less.  In thinking about those less fortunate than ourselves, we should then be able to realize although we may not have all we want, we have enough.  From this realization comes gratitude - a very productive attitude! 

This same principle applies to just about every situation we face.  We each suffer extraordinary loss, betrayal, despair, disappointment ... but what can turn these apparent negatives into something productive can be as simple (Hah!) as re-positioning ourselves so we're looking up instead of down. 

It's not for wimps, for sure, and I imagine some of you will think this a simple-minded evasion of the truth.  Gratitude is a lifestyle, not just a surface emotion or sentiment.  It is the simple, yet profound apprehension of the fact that none of us is sufficient in and of ourselves.  Does your livelihood involve production or service? Where would we be without the patrons of those products or services?  Gratitude!

Lack has become a manipulative term in our culture, but it is also something for some reason, that we eagerly grab hold of.  I mean, for those of us who struggle to pay bills, although there may be extra bills left at the end of the money, do we not still have ... ?  For those with serious health issues, in spite of the struggle, do we not still have life ... hope?

There was a point where I actually began to make lists ... a list of what I lacked vs list of what I had.  Guess which list was endless?  Even though the "lacks" existed, they were certainly outnumbered, and outweighed in value by the "have's".  My perspective changed.  I'm working on making the change permanent.  It's not always easy, but then ... which is a better investment of my time and energy?  Working to satisfy the want,  or appreciating this moment, this place, this day.

Food for thought.  :)

~ B