Great reminders. As I sit here with my laptop, in a place that has never been bombed, where grocery stores overflow with choices, where electricity is available all day every day, and clean water flows freely from my tap, it is important to remember the many unseen privileges I take for granted every day.
Mercy, what a guilt trip! Mea culpa mea culpa. My Daddy was an electrician, so I understand how proud he was to have brought light and heat to so many people and schools and stores. And then there are plumbers ... every time I use the toilet, I think of their gift to humanity. And carpenters and bricklayers. And Switter, I'm absolutely head over heels in love with the two men who are laying down hickory hard wood in my bedrooms. My God, the wealth that I take for granted. Privilege. Some people, like me, think of privilege as belonging to trust fund kids, not working class kids who started working their asses off before graduating from high school and knew they'd be working until they died because the SS program is bankrupt (be privileged people) and their attempts to move upward like Horatio Alger will leave them with hardly a dime for retirement. HA! Now there's privilege. Ah, to retire some day.
Thank you for reminding us to be thankful. And to be thankful for “the built world”. Us humans have done amazing good things, and amazingly bad things… doesn’t hurt to notice the good every now and again!
It's good to remember all we have to be grateful for. That quote though has been one that has terrorized me my entire life. "For to whom much has been given, much is expected." It was used in my youth in the protestant culture I was raised in to mean that I needed to be responsible and give back and never have "too much" or appear to have more than anyone else. It haunts my dreams, telling me that I don't deserve anything because I already have "too much" and that i should be utterly selfless with my time and energy. It says that resting and taking care of myself are really sins when I could be taking care of others.
Isn't it funny how a phrase can contain such different meanings for different people?
I should have said - that "appear to have more" included that I should be careful never to appear smarter than anyone else, that I should always go to the back of the line, etc. It really was used to tell me to diminish myself because there are always so many with less in some way.
When I think about the phrase, I think about how if I realize how fortunate I am (I have enough stuff), it makes me want to pass along the goodness I experience because I enjoy smiles and it multiplies my joy. I understand your perspective, though, because I heard that as a child as well, and it often sounded like a threat, but every one of your posts is to me a gift of your talent, perseverance, and graciousness in sharing the beautiful world as you see it. You have many gifts you share and I am grateful that you do. My life is better because of your willingness to share your special way of seeing the world.
Karen, I was also raised in the protestant culture but separated myself from it many years ago because I could no longer tolerate nor justify the judgement. I took on so much shame and guilt that I used to joke about how I would have made a good Catholic - lol! What I wonder, based on what I experienced in that culture, is how well that was modeled in your community? In mine, it was a lot of talk and not much action. Sure, make a big pledge, serve on a few committees, maybe work in a soup kitchen over the holidays, but when it came to actually CARING about those in lesser circumstances, not so much. There was too much piety in the mix for that.
My only regret from my childhood is that the post office didn’t have free priority mail packing boxes the way do now. I would have filled them with all the oatmeal I hid and sent them addressed to: Starving Children, Africa.
I know it’s easy for me, but here in the mountains where we live, the power goes off frequently enough to remind me to be grateful for when it’s on and equally grateful for the good people who turn it back on.
A
“For to whom much has been given much is expected.” A little kindness and empathy go a long way.
Thanks for sharing and reminding us.
I’m talking only to myself!
Great reminders. As I sit here with my laptop, in a place that has never been bombed, where grocery stores overflow with choices, where electricity is available all day every day, and clean water flows freely from my tap, it is important to remember the many unseen privileges I take for granted every day.
I KNEW, I just KNEW you would be wonderful and insightful and thought-provoking!! Well created and once again, welcome!
J
Mercy, what a guilt trip! Mea culpa mea culpa. My Daddy was an electrician, so I understand how proud he was to have brought light and heat to so many people and schools and stores. And then there are plumbers ... every time I use the toilet, I think of their gift to humanity. And carpenters and bricklayers. And Switter, I'm absolutely head over heels in love with the two men who are laying down hickory hard wood in my bedrooms. My God, the wealth that I take for granted. Privilege. Some people, like me, think of privilege as belonging to trust fund kids, not working class kids who started working their asses off before graduating from high school and knew they'd be working until they died because the SS program is bankrupt (be privileged people) and their attempts to move upward like Horatio Alger will leave them with hardly a dime for retirement. HA! Now there's privilege. Ah, to retire some day.
Sometimes we live in a river of goodness and prefer to complain of thirst.
A good reminder that even these simple things we take for granted are not so simple and we are extremely privileged. Thank you for this.
Thank you for reminding us to be thankful. And to be thankful for “the built world”. Us humans have done amazing good things, and amazingly bad things… doesn’t hurt to notice the good every now and again!
It's good to remember all we have to be grateful for. That quote though has been one that has terrorized me my entire life. "For to whom much has been given, much is expected." It was used in my youth in the protestant culture I was raised in to mean that I needed to be responsible and give back and never have "too much" or appear to have more than anyone else. It haunts my dreams, telling me that I don't deserve anything because I already have "too much" and that i should be utterly selfless with my time and energy. It says that resting and taking care of myself are really sins when I could be taking care of others.
Isn't it funny how a phrase can contain such different meanings for different people?
I should have said - that "appear to have more" included that I should be careful never to appear smarter than anyone else, that I should always go to the back of the line, etc. It really was used to tell me to diminish myself because there are always so many with less in some way.
When I think about the phrase, I think about how if I realize how fortunate I am (I have enough stuff), it makes me want to pass along the goodness I experience because I enjoy smiles and it multiplies my joy. I understand your perspective, though, because I heard that as a child as well, and it often sounded like a threat, but every one of your posts is to me a gift of your talent, perseverance, and graciousness in sharing the beautiful world as you see it. You have many gifts you share and I am grateful that you do. My life is better because of your willingness to share your special way of seeing the world.
Karen, I was also raised in the protestant culture but separated myself from it many years ago because I could no longer tolerate nor justify the judgement. I took on so much shame and guilt that I used to joke about how I would have made a good Catholic - lol! What I wonder, based on what I experienced in that culture, is how well that was modeled in your community? In mine, it was a lot of talk and not much action. Sure, make a big pledge, serve on a few committees, maybe work in a soup kitchen over the holidays, but when it came to actually CARING about those in lesser circumstances, not so much. There was too much piety in the mix for that.
My only regret from my childhood is that the post office didn’t have free priority mail packing boxes the way do now. I would have filled them with all the oatmeal I hid and sent them addressed to: Starving Children, Africa.
🤣
That can be said for everyone. It’s easy to get complacent
I know it’s easy for me, but here in the mountains where we live, the power goes off frequently enough to remind me to be grateful for when it’s on and equally grateful for the good people who turn it back on.
You want me to delete my comment.? In January I decided it was the year of kindness. Has been eye opening for me.
Of course not!
But I must practice what I preach.
I’m just some guy watching life go by and thinking about it, but thanks for the kind words. A scribbler lives to hear he touched a heart.
Amen, AMEN, AMEN! I am THANKFUL for the blessings God so abundantly provides! Thank you for the reminder.