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Thanks a lot!

Hearing about our friends over the pond and their Thanksgiving celebrations last week got me thinking, what am I thankful for?

Too often in life we are so focused on what we want that we don't notice what we have got.  Humour me, just take a couple of minutes to jot down a list of everything in your life that you are grateful for at this exact time in your life.  Don't read on, stop for just a couple of minutes and do it.

A few years ago I was sent an e-mail that highlighted to me just how lucky we are in the Western world.  I am sure many of you have seen it, for those that haven't please find it copied below, for those that have, you might want to re-read it anyway:

 FOOD FOR THOUGHT

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look like this:

There would be:

57 Asians

21 Europeans

14 from the Western Hemisphere, both North and South

8 Africans

52 would be female

48 would be male

70 would be non-white

30 would be white

70 would be non-Christian

30 would be Christian

89 would be heterosexual

11 would be homosexual

6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the United States

80 would live in substandard housing

70 would be unable to read

50 would suffer from malnutrition

1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth

1 would have a college education

1 would own a computer

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.  The following is also something to ponder:-

You are better off than the 1 million who will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are more blessed than 3 billion people in the world.

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have some money in the bank, in your wallet and spare change in a dish someplace you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If both of your parents are still alive and still married you are very rare indeed even in the Western Hemisphere.

Now look back at the list you wrote at the start of this e-mail.  Am I right in thinking that you can probably add quite a few more things to your list?

Just stopping occasionally to recognise. appreciate and be thankful for all the good things that you have in your life can make a huge difference to your overall happiness.  Doing it regularly is even better.  I know you have a diary either for your business appointments, keeping track of birthdays or for journalling, so why not jot down in it 3 things every day that you are grateful for.  You will be amazed, once you start actively looking you will find your life is jam-packed with good things!

To find out how I can help you live a happier, more fulfilled life contact me now.

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"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful".

Buddha