This morning I woke up feeling grateful.  I had slept well on a good bed.  This is a great blessing.  I looked out the windows and saw trees and sky.  These, too, are great blessings.  My body felt well.  I was not sick or in pain.  This is a tremendous blessing.  I am alive and breathing.  How wondrous!

It’s true that if we could only pray one prayer, “thank you” would be the prayer to pray.  How happy it must make Mother/Father God to hear our gratitude.  How happy it makes me to feel gratitude arise in my heart! 

What else can I be thankful for?  A home that keeps me warm in the cool days and dry on the wet days.  A fan to keep me cool when it’s hot. Air conditioning. A car to drive me from place to place.  Gas to make that car run.  Food in the refrigerator and a stove on which to cook it.  Fresh clear water straight from the tap with which to bathe, wash dishes and clothes, drink.  Indoor plumbing – toilets, showers, sinks.  Comfortable furniture.  Lights.

What else?  Family, friends, neighbors.  Children, dogs, cats.   Grandparents, babies.  People of all colors.  Trees, flowers, birds, bees, rabbits, deer, butterflies.  Fox, coyotes, wolves, mountain lions, bears.  Whales, dolphins, fish of all kinds.  Frogs, bats, snakes, worms.  Eagles, hawks, hummingbirds, songbirds.  Cows, chickens, horses, pigs.  Elephants, tigers, lions, monkeys.

What else?  The ability to move, to walk, to dance, to jump.  The ability to speak, to hear, to touch, to taste, to smell.  The ability to sleep, to breathe, to sing, to make love.  The ability to think, to wonder, to dream.

What else?  An education, travel, fun.  Trips to the mountains, trips to the shore.  Picnics, parties.  Work, jobs, the opportunity to support myself and stay alive.  Wonderful food, eating out, Thanksgiving meals, gardens, farms, farmers.

What else?  Laughter, hugs, kisses, winks, holding hands.  Candles, campfires, fireflies.  Oceans, rivers, streams, ponds, lakes, springs, wells, waterfalls.  Rain, rainbows, snow, storms, thunder and lightning.  Forests, deserts, jungles, prairies.  Sunrise, sunset, clouds, the many phases of the moon, the beautiful stars.  Air to breathe, breezes to refresh, wind to exhilarate.  This Earth which feeds us with food and inspires us with beauty.  Mountains, rocks, stones, shells, dirt, grass, sand, clay.

What else?  Joy, music, art.  Movies, books, computers.  My brain, my talents, my heart, my smile.  All the organs which function so beautifully and faithfully.  My hands and fingers.  My legs and feet.  Muscles, nerves, skin, hair.

What else?  Freedom.  The right to vote.  Living in a democracy.  Grateful that there is no war in my hometown, no horrible violence, no major crime.  Grateful that my loved ones are alive.  Freedom to worship how I choose.  Freedom to choose – no matter what I can always choose how I think, how I act, how I react, how I speak.

There is so much, SO MUCH, to be grateful for.  May I never lose the ability to be thankful.  May I never forget just how very blessed I am.

Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you for every blessing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5ZjrGdlNDo