An Hour of Gratitude

Here are excerpts from a great article by Sharon Hersh in the November issue of the In Touch monthly publication (http://www.intouch.org/):

'...I woke up this morning remembering a commitment I made to myself for the month of November: that I would spend one hour each day giving thanks. So I turn the light on and my alarm clock off, and both work predictably - while 1.6 billion people around the globe live without electricity. They rely on burning wood and waste for light and heat...So, I give thanks for electricity.

...I'm extraordinarily grateful for my cell ("mobile" outside USA), considering that, in the developing world, a majority of people live with limited access to telephone, basic Internet, or even postal service...Recently, I read about a study on loneliness and felt deep sadness to learn that one-fourth of those surveyed reported often having no one to talk to.

...I was embarrassingly unaware that much of the world's population doesn't have access to a toilet...it's an avoidable non-issue for us only because we live in the privileged First World. Elsewhere, the lack of sanitary plumbing is one of the major causes of early childhood death and disease.

...For a quarter of the world's population, a glass of clean water is never an option, which is why more than two million people die every year from diseases contracted simply by drinking water. With every sip, I give thanks.

...Considering that approximately 15 out of every 1,000 Americans have a hearing impairment, I thank God that I can hear the words and melodies coming from a miraculous three-inch device that stores all my favorite songs.

...My heart overflows with gratitude as I savor every bite of a pumpkin bagel slathered with peanut-butter. I'll never forget the newspaper photos I saw last year of starving Haitian families making "cookies" from dirt, salt, and shortening to stave off their hunger pangs.

It takes only the highlights from a single hour in my day to confirm that I have a lot to be grateful for.

...In just one hour of reviewing my portfolio of wealth, I'm reminded that we aren't prosperous because of what we have. It's the measure of gratitude that we carry with us into the world - even for 60 minutes a day - that makes us rich.'

Winners give thanks, all the time.