Pease read Dr. Tim’s message. Follow him at Dr. Tim’s blog or join his free mailing list.
Thanksgiving is Upon Us
By Dr. Tim
Thanksgiving is upon us. Because Pam and I are going out of town this week, we celebrated the holiday with our family on Sunday. Since then, I have been thinking about all of the things Thanksgiving means to me.
As my children get older (and I get older) I think all the blessings I have in my life become more and more apparent. For one, I am very grateful for my health. Sometimes we take our health for granted until the day we are sick. I am thankful for all the organs in my body which function 24 hours a day without me even realizing it. Did you realize your heart beats over 100,000 times a day? Or that you breathe over 1700 times a day? Just think about the functions going on inside each cell in the body as they create energy and metabolize waste on a daily basis.
As a physician, I spend a lot of time treating and healing things that go wrong with the body, and sometimes that makes me take for granted the wonder and beauty of the miraculous machine we call our body.
I am so very grateful for my family. I have the best wife and children any man could ever hope for. To watch what my children are choosing to do with their own lives as they grow and mature is indeed a great blessing. We have five children. While some may think five is too many, it has been a miraculous blessing in my life.
I am also thankful for the close relationships I have with my closest friends and extended family. What a blessing it is to know that you have people you can rely on if you need them. It makes me want to be a better friend myself.
I am very grateful for my businesses. Many times I get so caught in the day-to-day happenings of my businesses I forget how blessed I am to be able to do what I want every single day. Every day I get to work on exactly what I choose to work on. I work with the greatest bunch of people around, and I am grateful for each and every one of them.
I am grateful to live in America. What an opportunity. Despite our economic recession, there has never been a greater time or a greater place to live. We enjoy freedoms most people in the world would literally give an arm to have. If you make an average salary in the United States, you are in the top 1-percent of the world's income earners. Many in this world are still working for $1 a day or less. They would give anything to have the opportunities we have right here in front of us. I am thankful for the blessing of living in this great land.
I would also be remiss if I did not express thanks to those who protect it. Having served myself, I have a deep appreciation for those serving our country in whatever capacity.
As you get ready to celebrate this Thanksgiving, take some time to think about the things you are grateful for. Make a list of those things. Go for a walk by yourself, or with your loved one, and contemplate the blessings in your life.
The more we express our gratitude, the more blessings we seem to have. Inner peace comes not from getting what you want but from wanting what you have. Remember to live with an attitude of gratitude.
Happy Thanksgiving!
