Counting Blessings (On September 11th)

It's been nineteen years since the most horrible attack that our country has ever known; I remember the day well.  Rather than talk about that, let me expound on the good things in life.  

In the quiet of my own space, I often find myself counting my blessings, which are many.  OK, maybe I don't have the biggest house in the world, the fanciest car (I don't drive..."car? What car?"), or the most money of everyone I know.  Maybe I don't get to meet friends at the Patterson Club, or hob-nob with socialites.  Even so, I count myself as VERY lucky.  

I am quite fortunate, it seems, as God has granted me a number of good things.  

He has seen fit to give me a working brain, and at least a decent amount of intelligence (no offense to my jock friends, but being a jock is overrated).  I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and good food (and refreshments) on my plate.  I am in relatively good health, with a good (although sometimes wacky) sense of humor.  I have many good friends, a great family, and the best parents a guy like me could've ever asked for.  I am blessed to live in what is STILL (even with all its faults) the greatest and most free nation in the world.  And although I have been "lucky in cards, unlucky in love", I know the feeling of loving someone who is not part of my family (note 1). 

Now, I don't have everything.  There are heights in life that I have not achieved, and places that I have not gone.  I am hated by some people, many of which will continue to hate me no matter what I do or say.  And the love that I feel and show for....well, my "intended other"....is of the unrequited sort.  With time, I have learned to accept these things (not that it makes unrequited love any easier).  Indeed, "haters gonna hate", and "players only love you when they're playing" (1).  

Nevertheless, I seem to have the important things in life.  And the things that I don't have are largely insignificant.  When all is said and done, that is something that I accept, and have come to terms with.  You see, life is not about your car, your house, or your money.  It's about the person that you are, the content of your character, and how you choose to spend your days.  

Now, a couple of final thoughts for this day.  

September 11th taught me, as it doubtless did many others, that NO ONE is promised tomorrow.  Lives can end in mere seconds; as the Don Henley song says, "in a New York minute, everything can change" (2).  And even the best of us are here for simply "a limited time only".  As such, you should never let a day go by without telling those you love how much you love them.  Don't let the next opportunity to do that go to waste, because you may never get another one.  

Time is a precious thing; make the most of it.  Here's to those we have lost, and the times we have had with them.  To quote George Carlin (as "Rufus") in "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure"...

"be excellent to each other"

.

Note 1.  In the event that she's reading this...Julie, I love you beyond what words could ever measure...now, and always.  You mean the world to me; I hope you know that.

Sources:

1.  Nicks, Stevie (with "Fleetwood Mac"). "Dreams". Warner Records, Hollywood, California, 1977. Accessed 11 Sept 2020.

2.  Henley, Don et al. "New York Minute". Geffen Records, Los Angeles, 1990. Accessed 11 Sept 2020.