All too often, doesn’t it seem in our “have to have” world that we forget to appreciate our life as it is? It may be true that we don’t live in a palace, and perhaps we haven’t gotten all that we would like to have in this world quite yet, but surely there is much in our life for which we can be grateful.  I knew a young man once, named Miguel, who didn’t appear to have many worldly possessions. His home was a minuscule room built on the side of my neighbor’s garage. He worked as a janitor at night and as a handyman around the neighborhood during the day. Rumor had it that he sent most of the meager wages he earned to his parents and younger siblings who lived somewhere in Mexico. Yet, I’d never seen a happier person. He walked with joy in his step, he actually whistled while he worked, and there was always light in his large, brown eyes. Curious as to how he could sustain such joy, I asked him his secret. He told me, “Any day above ground is a good day.”

Let’s face it, earth life is a limited offer. Life in this world is finite. But, we’re here now! Just being alive was reason enough for Miguel to feel gratitude. Our life is a miracle that we have not made or earned. As the saying goes, “Life is a gift, that’s why it’s called the present.” But, have we said, “thank you” for the gift and does our life express our gratitude? Are we waiting, instead, for more…and more “things” before we sing our song of thanksgiving?

If we had all the material possessions that money could buy, but we couldn’t feel appreciation for them, what good would our possessions be to us? And, likewise, if we were able to feel joy in being alive, whether we possessed anything at all, then our “neediness” would disappear.

Prosperity and abundant good but come about for us in the future, but we hold the gift of “the present” in our hands right now. Let the music of our hearts play a song of praise so the we may dance with the Spirit today.

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