Appreciation & Gratitude For Not Being Homeless

What’s the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it? #Reverb #10

One thing. Hmmm…

Well today it’s having a house with heat. It was 17 degrees outside this morning and the wind was blowing and I was able to be inside and toasty warm.

As I ponder the question of appreciation, thoughts popped into my head that caused me to realize – I definitely appreciate having a home. I’ve had a good year:

• made new friends
• nominated for Hot Momma’s project
• asked to be a real time blogger for Vision 2020 – An American Conversation About Women and Leadership
• interviewed on local TV about body image issues
• and many other positive things

But without somewhere to live I don’t see how these other things could have happened. My focus would have been on basic existence, something I usually take for granted.

I met Diana Adams on Twitter this year and she advocates for the homeless. Her article Help The Homeless: 10 Ways That Don’t Cost Money inspired my friend, Erin Margolin to always have food in her car to give to the homeless, to have a smile for them and to teach her daughters about being sensitive to the plight of the homeless. Reading about what they’ve done has reminded me about the increasing epidemic of homelessness, which makes me appreciate what I have – a place to live – especially on these cold Pennsylvania winter days.

Then I received an email about donating gloves and blankets for the homeless at a local church. I’m doing that later today.

Then I remembered the time when I was growing up and my father arose in the middle of a cold winter night, put his clothes on over his pajamas and left the house. He came home a short time later and I got up to ask what was going on. “I just couldn’t sleep when I heard the wind howling and I thought of that homeless guy sleeping on the grate outside of where I work. So I took a blanket over and covered him.”

Then I remembered that years ago the City of Allentown mowed down Tent City where homeless people lived near the Jordan Creek. I googled it to find out the year and discovered that it happened again this year – in June.

Left-overs. After people, human beings, are forced to leave their home.

The reason given years ago was the reason given now – to end homelessness. I didn’t believe it then and I don’t believe it now. Even if the city officials truly believe that’s their reason, it obviously doesn’t work. But this post is not for me to go on a rant. This post is for me to write about what I appreciate most and how will I show my appreciation.

I come back to my house. To a roof over my head. To heat. To running water. To a toilet that flushes. To electricity. To a bed. To a computer on which I can write what I appreciate.

To express my gratitude for my home I’ll buy gloves and blankets and take them to the local church who distributes them to the homeless. Then I’ll stay to ask what else I can do.

I’ll also express appreciation for each draft I feel in my old house because it means there’s a structure around me that’s keeping the full force of the cold winds off my body.

When my old toilet clogs I’ll say thank goodness I have a toilet (and a plunger).

Then, come spring, I’ll lovingly put a fresh coat of paint on this home that I will always remember to appreciate.

Namaste.