There’s a Lot to be Thankful For…

Johnny-on-the-Spot … by John Foster …

A lot has been reported on the attitude of America these days.

We’re divided, we’re grumpy, we’re unfocused.

“The Belonging Barometer”, a new tool used to assess our experience of belong or lack thereof, says 2 of of 3 of us feel excluded from the workplace, 68% from our country and 74% from out local community.

You’d never know that judging from all those smiling faces doing fun things that get posted on Facebook, ad nauseum.

Somewhere between how we feel and what we do, there’s a disconnect in many circles.

I’ve always thought problems arise when we think what we have is lacking.

What’s seen in movies, videos and even commercials sometimes paints a picture that seems rosier than our scenario.

One of my favorite groups, The Temptations addressed the issue in 1969 with “Don’t Let the Jones Get You Down”.

“You’re a leader yourself but you don’t even know it.

You’re so busy following the Joneses, you ain’t got time to show it.

Keeping up with the Joneses, it only makes your life a mess.

Bill collectors, tranquilizers and gettin’ deeper in debt.

You better leave the Joneses alone.

You better leave, oh leave, the Joneses alone.

Don’t let the Joneses blow your mind.

You’re doing fine. Don’t let the Joneses blow your mind.”

The other thing we need to do is not focus so much on what others may have and we don’t, but rather, count those blessings.

In 1959, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “The Sound of Music” had Julie Andrews singing about “My Favorite Things”.

“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.

Bright copper kettles and warm, woolen mittens.

Brown paper packages tied up with string.

These are a few of my favorite things”.

Some of my favorite things?

Mostly things money can’t buy.

The smell of coffee perking and bacon frying on a camp stove.

The bright green shoots in the yard from that grass seed you planted days earlier.

Watching the sun set on Lake Erie from North Dock on Pelee Island.

Listening to the laughter of family gathered at any of our holiday meals.

The cacophony of the season’s first spring peepers in a springtime swamp.

The smell of freshly-plowed fields.

That refreshing gust of cool wind that precedes a summer thunderstorm and the delightful aroma of the first few raindrops on the dry land.

Biting into that first tomato picked from the garden.

Puppy breath.

Sweaty dog “Frito” feet.

The smell of that fresh cut grass in the spring.

Burning leaves and a jack-o-lantern lid burned by the tea candle.

Sitting on the back porch in the morning with a fresh cup of coffee, watching the world wake up.

I’m the eternal optimist.

As long as I’m taking breaths and I’m on top of the turf, I’ve got a chance.

“When the dog bites.

When the bee stings,

When I’m feeling sad.

I simply remember by favorite things and then I don’t feel so bad.”

Cheer up America!