Small Acts of Gratitude

I was reminded the other day about my son's service in the military. He spent 15 months on a base outside of Tikrit, Iraq serving in the U.S. Army. The tasks he was trained for required travel into the countryside, to smaller bases and in the training of Iraqi personnel. This exposed him as it does thousands of soldiers each day to the possible violence that can occur.

It is his service and the service of hundreds of thousands of other military personnel that are helping a country rebuild itself, for which I am thankful. The political debate can take place in other forums of discussion, yet it is in my heart to know that military personnel are simply doing their job and doing it well.

And so it is with that, I thank them. You also have a way to thank service men and women when you see them in public. A very simple and easy way is by giving the 'gratitude' sign to military personnel. It is similar to the 'thank you' sign, but many folks may have a tough time giving a 'blowing kiss' sign to the military.

In the 'gratitude' sign language, you can use both hands or a simple one-hand indication. The idea is to simply sign a non-verbal symbol of thanks to those in the military for their service. I'm thankful to my own son for his service and to the many others. I thank you for thinking of them as well.

"That best portion of a good man s life? His little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love." - William Wordsworth
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Send In The Clowns

Today is about forgetfulness, the kind that a sibling shouldn't have but does in a hectic life. Okay, now I'm starting to make excuses. It was A. A. Milne that said, "Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” Well that is what I did a couple of days ago, started to think about calling my brother on his birthday and then....

What was it I was talking about again? Oh yeah, my brother John's birthday. Being that he is six years older then me, forgetfulness should be more akin to someone his age than mine.

So without further ado and before I forget again,

Happy Birthday To You, a few days ago !!
Happy Birthday To You, a few days ago !!
Happy Birthday dear John, a few days ago !!
Happy Birthday To You, a few days ago !!

Okay, I've paid my penance. Can I have my marbles back now?

P.S. Do clowns still bother you?


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St. Patricks Day

It was a fine day for the Irish in all of us, St Patricks Day - Lá ’le Pádraig or Lá Fhéile Pádraig.

From Wikipedia: Legend says that Patrick banished snakes from Ireland, though all evidence suggests that post-glacial Ireland never had snakes; one suggestion is that snakes referred to the serpent symbolism of the Druids of that time and place, or that it could have referred to beliefs such as Pelagianism, symbolized as “serpents”. Legend also credits Patrick with teaching the Irish about the concept of the Trinity by showing people the shamrock, a 3-leaved clover, using it to highlight the Christian belief of 'three divine persons in the one God'

So I celebrate my mother's heritage which is mine as well and raise a pint to all and say, 'Sláinte chuig na fir, agus go mairfidh na mná go deo.' In other words, "Health to the men, and may the women live forever!

Erin Go Bragh
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Thank God Its Friday

The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies;
but let the thankful heart
sweep through the day and,
as the magnet finds the iron,
so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!
Henry Ward Beecher

This cartoon caught my eye and got me to thinking about being thankful in life and being able to express it. It seems to be the only phrase that a majority of people are willing to use the name 'God' openly. Most everyone of us has said it, "Thank God Its Friday" at some point in our life.

The words are simple and meaningful in expressing an idea that you have been able to make it through a work week. It is an open expression to God thanking him for helping you accomplish so much. Also, for getting you to the weekend where you can relax from the toils of your job.

What I find more important though is to find things to be thankful for through out the week. The idea of TGIF is just a reminder that we really do have quite a bit to appreciate in our lives. things such as 'having a job' that we can go to. So many people are out of work currently with an unemployment rate of over 8% here in the U.S. (as of February 2009), many predict it will reach 10%. So maybe we could start saying, "Thank God I Have A Job" each day.

Every morning you get up and are able to get to a job. Your health is good and only the occassional cold seems to bother you. When you arrive at work, you take the stairs in order to get a little bit of exercise, maybe stop at the gym after work or even play with the kids on the weekend. So maybe we could start saying, "Thank God I Have My Health" each day.

And what about those kids of yours? Also a lovely wife and a great friend or two that you can say hello to are great to have around. The ability to talk with someone else and have a friendly conversation. So maybe we could start saying, "Thank God I Have My Family" or "Thank God I Have Friends" each day.

Even when you feel you have nothing in life or even if you have everything in life, each and every day we can find something to be thankful for. Try to be more thankful in your life and appreciate that which you do have. All you have to say is, "Thank You God."

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