GRATITUDE 03.29.09

I have many things for which to be grateful as I pause for reflection this week. The week started with difficult news this week at work. While many of the businesses in my particular industry are simply folding, my company took a step that, while shocking to many of us, is better than the alternative. It was announced that we will be required to take a mandatory ten day furlough. I still have a job. By taking a slight pay decrease, my furlough days will be paid.

Tuesday I had the awesome privilege and responsibility of providing the music for my late friend Helen’s funeral mass. It was an incredible celebration of her life—a life she lived to the fullest—I’d say even to the very last moment of her life, when she died in an automobile accident only one week and one day after her 89th birthday.

I’m grateful for such wonderful friendships. I say it, and I say it often, but I wouldn’t bother saying it if it weren’t true. The people in my life make my life immeasurably exciting to live. Sometimes, I just sit in awe when I think of the people who have come into my life in these last few months. With many of them, the friendships are such a bond that it seems we’ve been friends for years and years.

I’m grateful for memories of the past, experiences in the present and hopes for the future. I’m grateful for glimpses of peace which continue to come into my life. I’ve a long way to go, but feel confident that I’m on the right path.

Here’s my confession: While I am often dissatisfied with my lot in life, the truth of the matter is that I have a wonderful roof over my head, I have friends who love me, I have many more things going positively in my life than negatively. I often have more questions than answers, and I’m learning that is not so much a bad thing. Often, it’s the memories we make along the way that mean the most to us in retrospect. I have a good life, despite the moment of doubt and fear that all too often creep into my life. I’m a work in progress, and it’s only through grace and gratitude that I’m able to find my way through each new day of life.