Grateful Hearts

Recently, I was reading about waking up to gratitude - gratitude for being alive, for being healthy, for having a comfortable bed, for having air conditioning, for having a shower with hot and cold water. I thought of how many people in the world have none of these things. Most of us just take them for granted, but we need to consciously give thanks.

As I begin each day, I find so many more things to be grateful for: freshly brewed coffee, orange juice, fresh bread, and a choice of fruit. Then, I look outside, and I rejoice in the trees and multi-colored flowers, the squirrels and birds, the bees pollinating the flowers, the sun brightening my world. Awareness fills my soul with gratitude.

As I open my eyes wider, I rejoice in family and friends, for TV, computers, dishwashers, and phones and electricity to make them work. I pick up a book I'm reading and am glad for writers and poets who lift my spirits. I see children playing in the yard and smile at their clever antics and energy. 

I say a prayer of gratitude for all the things that I have, and know that I am blessed beyond words. As I take in all the beauty and wealth around me, I remember that there are many people who do not have all these things - in fact, who lack the basic necessities, who live in war-torn areas, who are homeless, unemployed, hungry, and in pain. 

I am too old to respond to these needs in tangible ways, too isolated. Prayer and lifting the spirits of those around me is all I have to offer. I admire those who actively serve the poor and needy in soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and through refugee resettlement. As the psalmist says, "Let us rejoice and be glad."