We are truly blessed....

When I say "blessed" I'm not referring to any particular religion, and I'm trying to not sound preachy. (My apologies if I fail at this) Whatever you believe in, when good things come your way, you need to give thanks - whomever it is to. And honestly, when bad things come your way, when possible (and believe me, this is difficult) give thanks for that too. So many good things come out of bad situations. I won't bore you with my life story, but suffice it to say that despite the crap I've experienced, much good came out of it. I am formed of my experiences, and many of them have not been good. What I've noticed lately is that finding peace within me has given me the ability to forget much of the bad, and the good that came as a result seems to be more prominent in my memory.

I moved out at the age of 17, with a bus ticket back to BC, a friend's house to stay at, and not much else. I struggled finding work, then a place to live within my budget. I was unable to get social assistance because they couldn't reach my parents to approve, and I was a minor. So many things tumbled out of a series of events that sprouted there, and not once did I go hungry... I always had a place to stay. I was embraced by wonderful people - many of which I've lost touch with, and I wish I hadn't because I'd like to extend more thanks. I don't even know that I was truly appreciative then, nor do I know if I had the capacity for that much gratitude. But I look back, even know with losing my job several months ago - the rent has always been paid, and we've always had food. Yes, we've lost some luxuries, but our basic necessities have always been met.

Basic necessities... now this gets tricky. Many people who have not had to go without have a very different concept of things we "need" and things we "want". I was guilty of that - even though I've never been "rich" I was certainly comfortable, and had a skewed view of what my necessities were. Losing everything is actually really good for the spirit. It's good to gain perspective and assess what actually matters. I think that's why, with all the humility that I can conjure up, I can say "We are truly blessed".

And maybe "We" is not a fair term. There are places in the world that do not have our social programs, who don't care for their own as I've experienced. Even my crappy childhood - I mean, there are much worse. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we need to be appreciative of what we have, and live our lives in gratitude. This shares our abundance with others, and will have a snowball effect on all of humanity. (That might be a bit of a stretch...) :) It's the whole "Pay it forward" notion... give it a try, I bet you'll like what becomes of it.

Sending warm wishes for a wonderful week!
SB