I live in a world where at any moment, some nut can come in to a restaurant and open fire on everyone inside. Or go in and rob a bank, and get on the road and drive faster than those at the Indy 500 and injure or kill innocent bystanders.

I live in a world where I work harder than anyone in their right mind should. My boss takes advantage of my skills, others in the office make me do things I don't feel are important, I am definitely not paid nearly what I am worth.

I live in a world where my kids are yelling and screaming day in and day out. I get home, I have to cook, and clean and take out the trash and mow the lawn and arrange for family time and work with the kids on their homework, and clean up the dishes and rest up and get to do it all over again tomorrow.

I live in a world where I am singled out because of my race, my creed, my color, my beliefs, the style of my hair, my choice of clothes, my level if intelligence, the place town I live in, who my parents are/were, where I went to school.

I live in a world where I am harassed by telephone solicitations, junk mail, e-mail, pages, door-to-door sellers, street corner vendors all wanting to take my hard-earned money for their own benefit.

I live in a world where it just isn't fun anymore. There is little to look forward to. There is little I can contribute. There is little one person can do. So, why go on? What do I have to be thankful for?

The fact that you are alive is something in itself.

Sure, the world is not what we would like it to be. Our work is not as we would wish it to be. Our life at home is hectic and frustrating. What used to be may not exist from what we remember. We are picked on by anyone and everyone wanting something from us. We are discriminated against in so many areas. But…

The fact that we are still here means we (as an individual or a group) still have something to do. Something to contribute. Something to work on that matters. While it is true that most of us will not be able to change the world by anything we do by ourselves, we do have the power to change things for ourselves and those close to us.

I am thankful that we have the chance each day we awake, to change ourselves and the world we see. We have choices, we have ideas, we have the freedoms to do what we will with them. We have so much going for us, it may get frustrating to see things just staying as they have for so long.

If for nothing else, be thankful that you are here, at this time, at this moment, in the place you are in, with the choices you have, with the friends you have, with the skills you have, with the ideas in your mind, with the images of others who have done what you may only imagine, for a better life is truly possible. But you need to live and work at it, to make it happen.

© 2001 David Stoddard