This past Sunday I attended a Mass at the local Catholic church, being raised in a household that followed both Jewish and Catholic beliefs, sometimes I still like to attend one or the other’s ceremony. We, the Catholics, are currently in the season of Lent and during Lent it is suggested that we abstain from something, to show our devotion to Christ. I think I will abstain from going to the Catholic Church again, for quite a while.
In the past when my wife and I go to church, it seems that the sermon is always focused on how the church needs more money. I am grateful to say that this past Sunday it was not. The gospel this past Sunday was talking about belief in Christ and how we, the people, should not listen to “Pagan” followers but should instead listen to the people “chosen by God, his holiness the Pope, the Cardinals and Bishops, as well as the Priests”. I thought to myself, you pious piece of shit! Do you really think that is what Jesus Christ would teach? That the members of the clergy know better than me on how I should live my life and treat my follow man. I would like to think that Jesus would rather view us all as equal, as brothers and sisters and that we are all family and that we should be treating each other as such.
I am grateful that I have the freedom to attend any religious ceremony that I want and that I have the freedom to think and voice my thoughts. It is surprising that some still do not have this freedom.
Today to be quite honest, I am grateful that I remembered to do my post tonight… so close to forgetting; tenuous grasp of reality sometimes. Things just slip, slip away… and the importance of yesterday is a longing memory today—another ingredient for guilt in the morning.
Slip, slip… away…
But; I need not send another fiver to my brother. I already did that this week. And I have this post to be grateful for.
And sometimes, it is the little things to be grateful for. A little breath of relaxation in the steady buzzzzz of existence. A cooling breeze in a sweat filled room. A post done late at night, before the crossing of time over tomorrow’s border.
I am afraid of what I am about to do, but I am trying very hard to be faithful and to know that it will work out and it will all be okay. Today I signed a contract and a check, the first check of several that I will sign. I am taking our saving down to zero or quite possibly negative, but I am also getting a 10 Kilo Watt solar system installed at our house; this will save us money in the long run; about $600 to $1000 a month. Did I just write that amount and was it correct? Yes, our P.G. & E. electric (only electric) bill really is that much, every month.
So I have faith that this is the right thing to do and that in the long run, I will have the money to complete this job and my family will not have any emergency that will require any more money.
Today, and I can safely say today – because it is Wednesday (yes, sometimes we do schedule our posts ahead of the agreed upon day of posting) – today I am grateful for my eldest daughter.
Because yesterday, she shared this post’s video with me… and watching it just lifted my spirits. It really is a wonderful world…
So even though I am at the very beginning of consistently doing a weekly stand-up routine; and consistently fall flat on my face—proving yet again that I am not the genius master of entertainment that I deeply believe myself to be… “No, Greg Wilker, you, too, have to do the work.” And though I often find myself immersed in angst and woe—all the while knowing that I have far more to be grateful for then most of the planets inhabitants… and that one needn’t travel far to find evidence of pain and woe—perhaps even downright evil… I watch this video and I think to myself…
Thank you, Robyn Bri, for your bright spirit and shining heart. You are the one who would open my eyes with a resounding “yes!”—”Let’s live this life. Aren’t you just thrilled to be alive?!” And now you are in the beginnings of your teen years…
I am grateful to you. I am grateful for this song. And I am grateful for this video you shared with me yesterday.
So what can I write about that you have not already heard? I am grateful for my family, my house, my health….. my life! Yep you have heard it all before, but that today is what I am truly grateful for. My daughter will be joining her two brothers this Saturday and officially become a teenager…yep as much as I resist it, I am grateful for that as well. My daughter is growing up and she is healthy and beautiful. My two boys are fairly healthy as we finish up another rugby season, although I wonder about John, after being dropped hard on his head last week. Jennifer and I enjoy hanging out together, we are both healthy and every month we have food to feed the family and our bills somehow get paid. My nephew Cole has made incredible strides in his recovery from the brain surgery that he had one year ago; truly amazing! I am extremely grateful for that.
Life is beautiful if you take the time to look around and appreciate it. Watch the sun rise or watch the moon set. The hills, the valleys, the ocean and mountains, where ever you are…take some time to smell the roses and appreciate what you have. If you can’t smell the roses, do what I do…brew some fresh coffee… I am grateful for that smell as well.
I awoke this morning with a little bit of the “buzzzz” of trepidation going on inside me… seems i am willing to thwart myself at every step i take. Or perhaps, more accurately, have a habitual train of thought to do so.
So, as I was seeking to calm myself to begin the day; not wanting to step out first thing with feelings of fear going on — I went out to get the paper. A pleasant rain fell upon me and I could feel the healing, cooling energy of it permeate through my skin to my soul (or what ever label works for you to describe your inner, intangible universe of self).
I also thought of the crazy, wonderful Saturday night I shared with Liz…
And a couple of other little things came to mind that helped calm my inner being and thoughts.
I am grateful that sometimes it doesn’t take much to feel supported and able to move on.
Today I am grateful for people like Napoleon Hill, Jack Canfield and Tom Hart. I have read books and passages from all of them and it is because of them that I am drinking water every day from the well or spring that they have show me. My attitude about life and how I control it has become increasingly more positive and I would have to say that my life is constantly changing for the better. If you would like to glance into the brook of positive success, look up one of the three gentlemen I have just mentioned.
Positive attracts positive and just like a magnet, negative repulses positive. Knowing this reality is another thing that I am grateful for.
Today I am grateful for the knowledge of knowing that I am never walking alone.
Oddly enough, it is the recent passing of Ronnie Montrose. A man I understand was troubled by “personal demons” – who struggled with the inner vision he held and what he was able to bring forth on this planet… the two never quite matching up.
And yet, he brought some brilliance to this planet – music to be reckoned with.
And the chaos I often hold in my head hole, well, it sometimes feels like a dark lonely place in there.
I am grateful that I am not alone with that – I do not walk alone.
A couple of weeks ago I decided that if I was going to start a new business venture with several people here in Northern California, that I would no longer wait for a friend of mine to venture to Northern California so that he could interview potential partners; instead I called one of the people up and suggested that we meet for lunch and discuss the proposition, without the missing SoCal link. Lunch was great, there was some strong interest and further discussions will be happening in the future. Later that same day one of the other people that I would like to work with on this project, showed up in my office unannounced, ( The Law of Attraction), so we discussed the possibility of working together as well. Again, there is interest and we will have future discussions as well. None of this would have happened if I had decided to continue to wait for my friend from the southern part of the state.
I am grateful for the courage to put my fears and excuses aside, so that I may move forward with the projects that I have a passion for…
Though choices often create a quandary for me, they also offer hope.
So, perhaps I have been suckin’ wind, face down in the mud of my mindscape—wondering what my life value is. (If we sum it up via a bank account balance, not much.)
Yet, this morning, a new morning, I have a choice to put my best foot forward and give full effort to the daily tasks before me. But what about something in which I have no skill in, like stand-up? Well, I choose to go to the open mic and give it my best shot—even if everything I’ve thought about to do over the past three weeks escapes me and I am left in the bright lights with nothing but myself and abject terror.
Maybe over time, if I keep choosing to push past my comfort zones and perceived barriers, maybe, the dreams I dream that fill me with light and joy will come true.
