Not Your Average Lawyer

I have much to be grateful for....

I have decided that I need to write a gratitude journal. It will be a chronicle of all the people in my life and of all the random things in my daily existence of whom or of which I am eternally grateful. The symbol above is the symbol of gratitude. If you are the subject of this post, I offer it to you with an abiding and heartfelt thank you for gracing my life.

To my Country and my Fellow Citizens

I have been glued to the internet watching the chaos unfold in Egypt over the past week. And it reminded me of how very fortunate and grateful I am to be a Canadian and live in Canada. As we grumble about our cold winters, our politicians, our taxes, and our scandals, we fail to take in the positives of residing in a country that has much to offer. Sure, we can do a better job on poverty, health care, public transportation, and crime. Nevertheless, a Country, similar to any human being, is not perfect. We can strive to make changes but we have much to celebrate already.

1. I live in a Country that has a national average daily income of $172.53 CDN, not $2.00 US like Egypt does. Although I accept many people are below the poverty line in Canada, the majority of us would think nothing of buying a $2.00 cup of coffee at our favourite coffee shop and not worrying whether that “luxury” means our children will go hungry yet another day.

2. I live in a Country where the unemployment rate is between 7% and 8%, not 95% like Zimbabwe or 35% like Afghanistan. My Country has government programs and benefits, shelters, and foodbanks that allow us to maintain at least a minimum standard of living. I live in a Country where no-one dies of starvation because they couldn’t get a meal.

3. I live in a Country that values and promotes freedom of speech. I can’t fathom a world where the media is all state-run and messages are sanitized to fit the political will of an autocracy.

4. I live in a Country that values diversity and that does not sanction exclusion merely because you choose to associate with people outside of your race, your religion, or your sexual orientation.

5. I live in a Country where there is no-fault divorce. Should I happen to fall in love with a married man, he is not at risk of being stoned (that is killed by stones, not drugged – see we can’t easily grasp the concept) for eschewing his arranged marriage in favour of his voluntary love for me.

6. I live in a Country where disasters rarely strike and, when they do, the communities surrounding us band together to help us through. I can’t comprehend living in a country like Pakistan where they are allowing their flood victims to live ten to a tent, in mud, despite all of the foreign aid that has poured into the country.

7. I live in a Country where the Army is rarely called in to restore peace because the police are so vilified that the public don’t trust them. (Okay, the army is sometimes called in for snowstorms in Toronto by panic-stricken politicians!) G20 protests aside, in our Country people cry collectively for a police officer killed in the line of duty because we know he died protecting us.

8. I live in a Country that has free medical care. Not even the United States, our cousin to the south, can lay claim to that.

9. I live in a Country that is not hated by the rest of the world. I can attest to that from my travels; if you wear a Canadian flag you are greeted warmly. When I visited NATO, it was clear the Canadian personnel are acknowledged as the peacekeepers, not the aggressors.

10. I live in a Country where I don’t go to sleep at night wondering whether there can be a better life for my children and my grandchildren. I know that they will have many opportunities to do even better in their lives that I did in mine.

Every Saturday at the seniors’ residence, we end the show with the singing of O Canada. Residents struggle from their wheelchairs to stand for the song and for our Country. Those who physically can’t stand place a hand over their heart. With my fellow Canadians every Saturday I am reminded of how thankful I am to live in Canada – glorious, strong, and free.

With Gratitude,

Brenda