Lets take time out – to be thankful

While sipping on on juice this evening at a friend's house as I fussed over and was absolutely fascinated by her wee little bundle of joy (yeah, it amazes me every time to think that we all metamorphose from that helpless state), she pointed out how lucky we were that we could actually sip on our juice... and even taste it while there was someone lying in a hospital bed who didn't even have the strength to use a drinking straw.

Her observation at the time seemed out of the blues, but it really got me thinking. Actually, I do have it better than so many people! I have a roof over my head, I have the option of having three square meals a day, and snacks in between, I can actually chew and taste my food, I am sitting upright as I type this blog post... come to think of it...I have sight, I can even use the computer (don't throw pillows at me just yet, I know that sounds cliché but bare with me).

Just thinking of my friend's statement has got me on a roll tonight. I really do hate being preached to about how much better I have it than other people when I am right in the middle of feeling sorry about something in my situation, but today, I am actually going to stop and think about it and I'll ask you to join me.

You may not have an idea where your next meal is coming from (seriously....it happens, I know) but think about it – if you can at least read my post on a computer or on you're phone, and if you have the energy in your finger to click the button at the corner and close this window, then truly, you do have something to be thankful for!

A "wee" bit of sacrifice never killed anyone, or then again, did it?

There are very few things that would induce me to give up my creature comforts.

For instance, why in the world would I want to give up the roof over my head in exchange for a tent on my back for a period of two weeks? Or the attendant security of knowing that bar any extraordinary circumstances, my door is unlikely to be charged by wild animals. Why would I want to exchange curling up in the evening on my settee with the remote control firmly in my possession (yes, it is I that controls it) mindlessly flipping through TV channels for a night in out in the open, surrounded by pitch darkness with the only source of light coming from distant stars and the glow from a fire lit to keep wild animals away? Or the knowledge that I shall retire to my warm bed with a nice thick mattress and the pillow I am so used to, for the uncertainty as to whether my bed for the night, a threadbare sleeping bag that has to be so in order for me to lug it around for the duration of two weeks, will be dry or wet.

I could actually fill several pages with the comforts I would rather not give up, and still not be done, but I think you get my point. That is why I look at my friend Anne with a mixture of respect and fascination as she prepares to walk for two weeks, through the Rumuruti forest (I am sure some have no idea such a forest exists and I will probably have to tell you all about it at some point) in an attempt to raise funds towards saving this forest and by extension, preserving the water system that depends on it.

I did promise to tell you all about this friend of mine and her quest to make a difference; so this is just the beginning. Hopefully, I will inspire more of us to do whatever little we can towards that worthy cause we have always wanted to support.