Are there certain things that just get under your skin? You know, those little things that make you want to pull your hair out?
For example, here are a few of mine:
- How the line I pick in the grocery store inevitably takes longer than the other available lines (also known as the Andy Andrews Law of Inverse Proportion)
- Delayed flights when I’m trying to get home
- Any kind of computer problem (history has shown I’m not the best with technology)
But you know what really gets under my skin? The fact that, at times, I let these little things bother me way more than they ever should.
And why does that happen? Because day-to-day life makes it all too easy for my perspective to get cloudy. Every Thanksgiving, I like to take a look at a few facts that help put my perspective back where it needs to be:
- If you have cash in your wallet and a jar on your dresser that collects loose change, you are considered “prosperous” by more than 90% of the world’s population.
- If you have food in a refrigerator, clothes in addition to the ones you are wearing, and a roof over your head at night, you are more fortunate than 75% of the people in the world.
- Did you know that there are more than two billion people who cannot read?
- If you attend church without fear of arrest or harassment, you have a freedom in your life that three billion in the world do not enjoy.
- If you are healthy, you are conspicuous by your vitality. Current statistics show that over one million people will die this very week.
This Thanksgiving, let’s all pledge to give an extra effort toward being purposefully grateful for the blessings in our lives. Instead of letting those quirky in-laws get on our last nerve, let’s be grateful we have enough food to share with them.
