Category Archives: thankfulness

Nov 23 3 comments
Anonymous, Gratitude, thankfulness, thanksgiving, Thanksgiving

The Gratitude of Escape

gratitude of escape

Some things I escaped, for which I am grateful.

  • Losing an Eye – 1955/1965 – Numerous cuts around my eyes as a kid. My nickname in my family was ‘Stitch’.
  • War/Combat – 1972/73 – Was just young enough to not be drafted during the Vietnam war.
  • Injury – 1972 – Private plane landing.  Tire went flat on landing, but not before we had slowed down considerably.
  • Rape/Death – 1973 – Got in the car of a stranger during a severe rainstorm at LaGuardia Airport. Talked my way out of it successfully.
  • Death – 1973 boat explosion – Severely burned but survived.
  • Injury/Death – 1989 Loma Prieta/World Series Earthquake – Very close to the epicenter in Santa Cruz county.
  • Injury/Death/Arrest – 1993 – driving while intoxicated – Stopped drinking in May of that year.
  • Nasty Divorce – 2000 – First wife Kathy and I had an amicable divorce and remain good friends and supporters.

What have you escaped for which you are grateful?

Drawing and List by Marty Coleman, Publisher of The Napkin Dad Daily

Quote by Anonymous

Sep 26 0 comments
Anonymous, thankfulness

Escaping Thankfulness

This is a tricky idea because you really don’t know what you have escaped, do you?  I mean, you know physically what you have escaped to some degree.  You know if you had fallen off that cliff instead of that pregnant nudist hiker you would very likely get a whole bunch of broken bones, scrapes, cuts, and probably more.  But do you know everything you might have escaped?  What if the pregnant nudist hiker met the love of her life in the form of the paramedic who treated her?  What if she wrote a book about her accident and her transformation from pregnant nudist hiker to world renowned Doctor of Broken Bones and became wealthy from speaking on the Broken Bone conference circuit?  What if when she fell she actually landed on a beached whale no one had seen and because of her the whale was rescued and put back to sea?

So, what I am saying is this quote should be ignored, right? No, I am not saying that. I am saying whether you escape something or don’t, you have the choice to be content and grateful.  You have the choice to find the good in whatever it is you experience.  You can be grateful you escaped death and the baby was safe or you can focus on how unfair life is that it allowed you to fall.  You can be grateful you met a great paramedic or be angry at how long it took him to get to you.  You can be grateful the whale was there to soften your fall or annoyed by how smelly the whale is. 

What has happened recently that you chose to be grateful and content with instead of angry and annoyed?  How did that affect the rest of your day?


 I had a comment this morning on Friday’s napkin, the 5th in my series on Personal Finance.  It was about retirement.  The commenter (Betsy, the Zen Mama) talked about her father being about to retire and having no money and a house worth nothing.  He is going to have to get a new job, but can’t find one yet.  I hadn’t visited her blog recently so I went to take a look.  She had a list of 25 gratitude quotes as her latest blog entry.  This one caught my eye and mind.  She’s a cool Zen Mama, you should check out her blog.


Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Anonymous

 

Jun 01 0 comments
Joseph Joubert, thankfulness

Think of The Ills From Which You Are Exempt

What disease don’t you have?


What family tragedy hasn’t happened to yours?


What are you able to do that others cannot?


How lucky are you to have the support you do?


How much money are you able to spend on leisure?


What genetic blessings were you given?


What evil have you avoided?


What close call did you have?


What love are you shown?


How grateful are you?





















Drawing and questions by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily


Quote by Joseph Joubert, 1754-1824, French essayist

One year ago today at The Napkin Dad Daily – Ah, Summer

Nov 24 2 comments
Frank A. Clark, Gratitude, thankfulness, thanksgiving

>If A Fellow Isn't Thankful For What He's Got

>

Thank goodness today is day #3 of Gratitude Week at The Napkin Dad Daily
I ran the Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa this past Sunday.  I didn’t do well during most of the race.  It wasn’t anything about training, nutrition, hydration,  race day preparation or even my time (which was bad) that makes me say that.

It was my attitude. I started out with a mess up finding the people I was going to run with.  It was crowded and I was alone, no running buddies.   My legs were sluggish to start.  My attitude wasn’t infused with thankfulness or love, it was infused with bother.  I was bothered by walkers. I was bothered by gatorade spilling on my hands. I was bothered by music bands along the way.  I was bothered by my inability to get my body in gear to keep at the pace I wanted.

Two things changed that.  At mile 21 I finally met up with two of the runners I was going to run with.  They were both stopped and in great pain.  One had to keep walking, the other started running with me.  She had injured her knee half-way through and was crying.  We kept plugging along for the next 5 miles, running, walking, running as best we could.  I was beat, she was even more beat. But she kept going with me.  All my bother melted away and I was only thinking about getting us both over the finish line.  And we made it together.

The other thing?  A young man, 27 years old, had collapsed and died on the 1/2 marathon route.  Need I say more?  Nothing changes an attitude quicker than realizing the old adage ‘There but for the grace of God go I’.  I have lived twice as long as he did. I have had marriages, children, love, travel, pleasure, pain, great friends and family. Many of these things are lost to him now and forever. 

It was a sobering reminder that my attitude, as long as I am alive, should continually strive to be at, or move towards gratitude, thankfulness and love.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily

Quote by Frank A. Clark, 1911-1991, American Pastor and Aphorist

Nov 28 0 comments
envy, Samuel Johnson, thankfulness, thanksgiving

>One Is Apt To Complain

>While this may be true of those looking up with envy, the quote actually made me think of those who are higher up. For every person we see above us, there is someone who didn’t rise as far. What is your attitude towards them? Are you looked at as that person who is ungrateful? Have you considered who helped you and the gratitude you owe them?

Maybe it is the administrative assistant who first helped you understand the complexities of office politics. Now that you are a manager, are you still paying attention to that person?

Maybe it is a family member who first showed you how to use a camera and explained how to organize your photos. She remained a hobby photographer. You have gone on to professional photography, but have you stopped to thank that person for helping you on your way?

Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily blog.

Quote by Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784, English Author


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