Who remembers either as a parent, or even when you were a kid, playing a game in the car on long trips to keep occupied, called "Geography"?
The idea is that you name a city, province, state, country or continent, and the next person has to name another using the last letter of the place named by the preceding player as the first letter of their choice. If you get stuck, you're out....
Well here's a twist on that.... let's play "Gratitude"
Here's how it could go: First of all, let's forget about the last letter thing.... (hey, this is my game, and I'm grateful that I can make it easy!!!) The only criteria, is that there has to be some link between the words that follow, and I'm not too strict about that... the fact that one makes you think of the other is close enough for me...
Health....
Happiness...
Safe Food supply...
Creativity....
Safe drinking water...
Hot showers and baths...
Sanitary indoor plumbing...
Gifted medical personnel...
Liberty...
Your children....(and their health)...
Nutritious vegetables and fruit all year long... (even if you live in Canada)
Great Literature to read....
Excellent music to listen to...
Shelter from the elements...
Reliable transportation...
Power brakes....
Power steering....
Car heaters and air conditioning...
Car audio including ipods...
GPS in cars...
Opportunities to see the world.... (when our ancestors may have lived their whole life in a 50 mile radius)
Internet... (where I can see the world virtually, and have relationships with people all over the world....)
Virtually unlimited access to information...
Education...
Diversity of ideas...
New technology every single day...
Opportunity to earn my living by socializing and thinking rather than with my back and muscles...
Fitness technology allowing me to stay fit in 10 minutes a week... (really! read other blog entries)
Dance lessons...
Leisure time to maximize relationships with loved ones thanks to technology...
Face time and video skype to see grandchildren...
Prime movers who think all this stuff up...
Toilet paper.... (don't laugh, imagine life without it...)
Toothpaste, dental care, all hygiene...
Vision....
Hearing...
Sense of touch...
Language...
Human beings.....
In the movie "White Christmas", Bing Crosby sings a song called "Count your blessings".... (ironically a Christmas movie where all the Christmas songs were written by a person who never celebrated Christmas, Irving Berlin). Bing tells us to do that if we can't sleep at night, and I've tried it.... way better than counting sheep... may or may not work, but instead of being frustrated with not being able to sleep, you'll soon feel grateful instead.
I have to add, in conclusion that virtually all of the blessings named above (which is only a very partial list) are made possible directly or indirectly, by the concepts of freedom and individual rights. These concepts unleash the most powerful force on earth... human ingenuity and creativity, and that is the seed of everything, but as with all seeds, it needs the proper conditions to flourish, which is impossible without liberty.
No coincidence that the degree of the quality of life in any place on earth is in direct proportion to the degree to which these concepts are understood, respected, cherished and protected....
So while at the same time that we need to feel grateful, we must also remember, as Tom Petty says, "Ain't no easy way to be free" and remain vigilant to protect our quality of life by defending it against those (usually our own government, but sometimes others) who would take it away.
All for now.... thanks for reading...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment