2nd 30 Day Writing Challenge: Day 12 - My 5 Blessings

Day 12 is all about blessings:  "Write about 5 blessings in your life."

The mildly religious connotation aside, this subject is not one of my favorite things in which to write. This subject makes me think of Eminem's song "So Far..." in which he states "I'd count my blessings, but I suck at math." I suppose like most people, I tend to focus on the negatives because they seem so much more numerous and vexing to me.

When coming up with this list, I immediately thought of 2 things, but after that, I had to think a little more outside the box and be creative.  Note that I will not be listing "good health" as one of my blessings in life.

My family and friends

I list my friends and family together because often my friends are my family. These are the people who are always there when I need them. Their love and affection is unconditional and they provide support and advice when needed. My friends and family help me grow as a person.

My career/job

First, in this economy, I'm grateful just to have a job, but being a teacher is much more than "just a job". Back when I was a corporate grunt, I hated going to work, but needed to in order to pay my bills. Now, that I'm teaching, I go to work with a sense of purpose and while my current school is not ideal and it's often frustrating working there, I do love what I do. And I get paid for it. It's a win-win.

Ability to read and write

There are more than 796 million people in the world who cannot read or write. I am grateful to be able to do these two things, especially as both give me such joy.

A comfortable home

When I think back to all those years of living in NYC and seeing the countless homeless people, I certainly am thankful that I have a roof over my head. It is a home that I call my own, even if I do have to pay a pretty penny for it.

Nourishing food

"There are 842 million undernourished people in the world today. That means one in eight people do not get enough food to be healthy and lead an active life. Hunger and malnutrition are in fact the number one risk to health worldwide -- greater than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined" (World Food Programme). With statistics like these, everyone should be grateful that they have food in their pantry and/or money enough to purchase food.

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While trying to come up with my list of 5 blessings, I came across the following quote by Charles Dickens: "Reflect on your present blessings, on which every man has many, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some." I'm not sure I entirely agree with good old Boz, but it's probably good advice.

Tomorrow is Day 13 - What are you most excited about?