Last Saturday, like many of you, I braved the rain, the wind and the cold to watch the 2019 Santa Claus Parade. Luckily I was able to keep dry, because of the great hospitality of my friend Lynn Masaro, who runs the B&B at The Doctor’s House on Queen Street.
As I watched the parade and interacted with the other guests, something struck me. No one seemed to be upset with the fact that it was pouring rain and not snowing. We were simply enjoying the moment and the friendship. That got me to thinking about the abundance that many of us have who live in Niagara. Unfortunately, that is not what I see on a day-to-day basis, where people complain about the smallest of issues.
There is a story about a family who arrived from a third world country, where they literally had nothing. They were asked what struck them the most about their new home. They said that they couldn’t believe we actually use clean water to flush our toilets. Think about that comment. Water is gold in many places of the world (including Canada), and we in Niagara use clean drinkable water in our toilets, and simply flush it away without a thought.
Here’s the rub. Then we bitterly complain about not finding a parking spot on Queen Street because of those tourists who simply want to enjoy what some would call the prettiest little town in the world. Or someone who is driving too slow, or a friend or relative who didn’t treat us the way we thought we needed to be treated.
I believe it is time we all thought more about the abundance we have, and how blessed we are for the lives we live.
This season, and hopefully into the next and beyond, it’s time we take a minute to be grateful for what we have, and stop focusing on what we don’t have. Of course it is important to give to others at this time of year, but I think it is more important to understand how blessed we are, and how fortunate to be living in this place at this time.
So, here is my hope for the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020.
Be more grateful and less wanting. Be kinder and less hurtful. Be more open and less closed. Be more patient and less impatient. Be more helpful and less selfish. Be more giving and less taking. Be more understanding and less narrow in your thinking.
And finally be happier, and less angry with your situation in life. Remember, you really do have a lot.
Don’t get me wrong — last Saturday at the parade it was wet, cold and nasty, but that was secondary to all of the wonderful volunteers and parade participants who took the time to march, in order to bring others so much joy that day, not to mention the great laughs I had standing on the porch with old friends and some new ones.
Dante said we don’t see the world as it truly is, we see the world only from where we stand. Maybe it is time to look again, with a new vision, at the blessings of what we have.
Ted Mouradian is the President of the 2% Factor Inc. and creator of the Law of Cooperative Action. He is an author and professional speaker and can be reached at ted@the2percentfactor.com
