More thoughts on thankfulness

Thankfulness has been on my mind again lately, brought to the fore by a posting on my FaceBook page. Titled “The Seven Wonders of the World,” it listed: (1) To hear, (2) To see, (3) To touch, (4) To taste, (5) To feel, (6) To laugh, (7)To love. 

And I thought, how many of us take these everyday wonders for granted. Those of us who are blessed to possess all seven should give thanks every day of our lives, for there are probably millions, maybe even billions, whose lives lack at least one of these. And I wonder how many of those are thankful for the wonders they still possess, or whether they, like us, take them for granted.

That brought to mind other wonderful things in our lives that often go unappreciated. As I prepared for a Thanksgiving gathering this last November, I was trying to come up with a list of five or even three things for which I was thankful. I was having a hard time zeroing in because there are just so many.

But when the evening rolled around, the question was not the top three or five, but the one thing. And the answer became immediately clear. I am most thankful for my sister, with whom I share a history, a home and my heart.

It was so obviously the answer, because it’s the people in our lives — family, friends — who make our lives full and full of meaning. So if you’ve been neglecting letting the people in your life know how much they mean to you, now’s the time to start. Don’t wait. Say, I love you and I’m glad I have you in my life. You’ll feel better for it, and so will they. 

Go on, share the love and spread it around. It’s the one thing only you can do.

Jan O’Meara