Skip to main content

Thanksgiving 2019


“I am grateful for what I am and have.
My thanksgiving is perpetual.”
-Henry David Thoreau

Happy Thanksgiving to all.  This is the day of the year where we often eat too much and watch too much football. It is also a day to give thanks.  So, before the turkey is served, and before the games begin, I count the many blessings in my life. 

First, comes my family.  With me or without, my family is a wonderful group of folks.  All are good people doing good things, working to be better, sacrificing for others, and helping their friends. It is my honor to be among you.   I am always grateful for my parents, both good people who helped me no end in those early years, pointing me in the directions of good works, morality, honesty, and strength of character.

The second is my life, as in I still have one. Because my dad died so young, I thought the same would be my fate.  But now decades later I’m still here, and with a detour or two have my health – which I do appreciate for which I’m most grateful.

 I’m also thankful I have sufficient resources to carry on without too much scrimping (a word taught me by my mom), knowing wealth does not make you happier. I’m still writing, thinking, reading, and generally doing, and I’m grateful I still want to. I even have some old friends wanting to take up new professional projects. Not bad!   Being passive is no way to be.  

And I’m most thankful that I have hope for the future.  Hope for myself (of course); hope for my family (of course); hope for my friends (of course). Have hope! Hope is like a tiny battery deep inside that must not fail. If it fails, you do.

Health and Family and Friends. Got ‘em. And thank you!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Please Comment.

Popular posts from this blog

Behavioral Science and Problem-Solving

I.                                       I.                 Introduction.                Concerning our general behavior, it’s high about time we all had some understanding of how we operate on ourselves, and it is just as important how we are operated on by others. This is the wheelhouse of behavioral sciences. It is a vast subject. It touches our lives constantly. It’s influence is pervasive and can be so subtle we never notice it. Behavioral sciences profoundly affect our ability and success at problem-solving, from the elementary level to highly complex wicked problems. This is discussed in Section IV. We begin with the basics of behavioral sciences, Section II, and then through the lens of multiple categories and examples, Section III. II.     ...
Post a Comment
Read more

UNCERTAINTY IS CERTAIN

  Uncertainty is Certain G. Donald Allen 12/12/2024 1.       Introduction . This short essay is about uncertainty in people from both secular and nonsecular viewpoints. One point that will emerge is that randomly based uncertainty can be a driver for religious structure. Many groups facing uncertainty about their future are deeply religious or rely on faith as a source of comfort, resilience, and guidance. The intersection of uncertainty and religiosity often stems from the human need to find meaning, hope, and stability in the face of unpredictable or challenging circumstances. We first take up the connections of uncertainty to religion for the first real profession, farming, noting that hunting has many similar uncertainties. Below are groups that commonly lean on religious beliefs amidst uncertainty.   This short essay is a follow-up to a previous piece on certainty (https://used-ideas.blogspot.com/2024/12/certainty-is-also-emotion.html). U...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mediocrity

 Once of the worst things that can happen to a young person is to be told their mediocre performance is good. For me, I was told the opposite, that my efforts would end me in failure. That was a spur that dug in deep. I would prove him wrong.  And I did.  Do not praise mediocrity, no matter how much it makes you feel good or your target. 
Post a Comment
Read more