Choose “Joy” this Holiday Season
At the beginning of this holiday season, I’d like to focus on all the things for which I am thankful. It’s not that I have huge piles of money under my mattress or huge amounts of material things. But what I have is much more important!
Faith. Family. Farming. I’ve come to realize, these are truly the best “things” in life. I have my faith, which I’ll admit has not always been steady. I have a fantastic family, including a new granddaughter and a new great granddaughter. I’ve been blessed to live all my life on an Iowa farm. For an old farmer, I’m in pretty good health. I have experienced so much in life that I should have written a book. (Does a blog count?)
Life hasn’t always been fun nor easy, but I’m thankful that the good Lord has given me trials and tribulations to make me appreciate who I am and what I have! I’ve learned to be satisfied with what I have instead of always wanting more. Now that doesn’t mean I’m still not trying to make life more comfortable for Janice and myself, but we have everything that we truly need. Taking time to reflect upon my life makes me realize that I have life better than 99% of the people on earth!
Chances are, you do to. And this is why I’m sharing these thoughts with you today…
There seems to be so much unhappiness in the world today. People find fault with everything and anything. Food, of course, is comes to mind first and I suppose that’s because of the career I chose. This sentiment applies to so many other aspects of our lives, and it makes me ask why…
- Is it because life as we know it is too easy?
- Is it because of how we are raising our children?
- Is it our schooling?
- Are we being so controlled by our government that we are rebelling?
- Have we simply lost our faith?
People seem to be looking for a cause, any cause to make themselves feel good. It’s like they need to feel accomplished because they’re not finding fulfillment in their jobs. Did you know that one third of working-age people in our country do not work? Hard work can be satisfying. I’ve learned to find satisfaction in a job well done. Maybe I find too much enjoyment in work! Sometimes I let work consumer me, but “work ethic” seems to be lacking in so many people today. They do not learn the satisfaction of a job well done or even the job being done.
We need change in this world for the better. People need to feel good about themselves and their contributions. People need to take direction from their past experiences. While I don’t have the solution, I believe replacing our current attitude of “entitlement” with a good day’s work would be a good start!
Get involved, people! Take an interest. The world isn’t going to stop turning, so jump on and enjoy the ride.
