“How’s your health? Not so good? Give thanks you’ve lived this long. Are you hurting? Millions are hurting more. Visit a veterans’ hospital or a hospital for children to appreciate what you have.
When you woke up this morning, were you able to hear the birds sing, use your voice, walk to the breakfast table, read the paper? There are a lot of people today who are deaf, unable to speak, paralyzed, unable to speak and who are blind.
How are your finances? Not good? Well, most of the world is a lot poorer. No welfare. No food stamps. No pensions. No Medicare or Social Security. In fact, one third of the people in the world go to bed hungry every night.
Are you lonely? The way to have a friend is to be a friend. If nobody calls, call someone. Get out and do something nice for someone.
Are you unhappy? Go out of your way to smile at people you bump into during the day. Maybe they are unhappy too and your smile will make them feel better. It will make you feel better as well. When someone does something nice, thank them, and say it with sincerity.
Are you unhappy with our government? Don’t despair. Our system has been saved over and over again by people who worried about our nation. And worry not. You can still cast a ballot in secret and criticize your government. Hundreds of millions of people live where this is not the case, where criticizing the government leads to a midnight knock on the door.
We should be thankful for the food before us and we should think of those who go without food. We should be thankful for the friends we have and remember those who are friendless. We should be thankful for our health and remember those with poor health. We should be thankful for our families, imperfect though they may be, and remember those without families.”
