I am thankful...

[Guest guest]

Jaya Sri Radhey! Namaste.

 

There was a good poem in a newspaper I read:

 

I am thankful...

 

For the wife who says it's hot dogs for dinner tonight

because she is home with me, not with someone else.

 

For the teenager who is complaining about doing dishes,

because that means she is at home not on the streets.

 

For the taxes that I pay,

because it means that I am employed.

 

For the mess to clean after a party,

because it means that I have been surrounded by friends.

 

For the clothes that fit a little to snug,

because it means I have enough to eat.

 

For my shadow that watches me work,

because it means I am out in the sunshine.

 

For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning,

and gutters that need fixing,

because it means I have a home.

 

For all the complaining I hear about the government,

because it means that we have freedom of speech.

 

For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot,

because it means I am capable of walking and that I have been blessed

with transportation.

 

For my huge heating bill,

because it means I am warm.

 

For the lady behind me in church that sings off key,

because it means that I can hear.

 

For the pile of laundry and ironing,

because it means I have clothes to wear.

 

For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day,

because it means I have been capable of working hard.

 

For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours,

because it means that I am alive.

 

***

 

God's Boxes

 

I have in my hands two boxes

which God gave me to hold. He said,

"Put all your sorrows in the black,

and all your joys in the gold."

 

I heeded His words, and in the two boxes

both my joys and sorrows I stored.

 

But though the gold became heavier each day,

the black was as light as before.

 

With curiosity, I opened the black.

I wanted to find out why, and

I saw, in the base of the box,

a hole which my sorrows had fallen out by.

 

I showed the hole to God, and mused aloud,

"I wonder where my sorrows could be."

He smiled a gentle smile at me,

"My child, they're all here with me."

 

I asked, "God, why give me the boxes,

why the gold, and the black with the hole?"

 

"My child, the gold is for you

to count your blessings,

the black is for you to let go."

 

***

 

Jaya Sri Radhey!