If you are a regular reader of this blog you’d know that I like to seize on throw away comments from podcasts I listen to at the gym – most often when I am on the cross trainer, and struggling to control my breathing. You really need something to keep you going through those moments, and as I have a tendency to sing along with music I’m listening to – definitely a breech of gym etiquette – I default back to podcasts. The person being interviewed was speaking about gratitude, and reinforced it with the line – Why be grateful? “Because life’s negatives are singular and its positives are plural.”
You can interpret that a few ways. There is always more to be grateful for than to grouch about. Or perhaps it’s saying that when we complain it’s usually because there is a large obstacle that is getting all our attention, and it blinds us to the positives that are still around. Or perhaps it brings up images of 1 Tim 6:7-8 “For we brought nothing into the world and can take nothing out. But if we have food and clothing will be content with that.” Put slightly differently, “Are you naked? No. Well you were when you were born, so if you are clothed now, you are ahead from when you started. Be content!”
Personally it brings back memories of sitting in front of Granny Smith at church services at Bulwer Rd Baptist back in the 1970’s. We’d be singing the sentimental old hymn, “Count your blessings” – with its repetitive chorus refrain, “Count your blessings name them one by one, count your blessings see what God hath done, count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.” It’s sound counsel, but Granny Smith (who in my memory was the oldest person I’d met) would have none of its single blessing restraint. She would warble out “Count you blessings name them two by two, count your blessings name them four by four, count your blessings, name them by the score, and it will amaze you there are millions more.” She would then clutch on to me and give a largely toothless grin and say, “It’s true young man, it’s true.”
I’d see her hobble away afterwards, clearly impacted by arthritis and struggling to move, and I wondered what the “millions more” blessings were that she sang about. But her delight in the song was evident and I never saw her focus on the limitations that age was clearly imposing upon her – just the millions of things she had to be grateful for – whatever they were.
She taught me a lot about attitude and focus, and the choices we make when thinking about life. While I am not sure of all the things she would list if I asked what she had to be grateful for, I’m confident it would be something like, “Because of Jesus, because of the hope of eternity, and because I’m here today. At my age, you don’t take that for granted.”
Today many people are advocating that we keep a gratitude diary – taking care to note the things we might otherwise overlook. It’s wise advice, because we tend to notice those things we look for. In other words, when we don’t take the time to list the positives we start to take them for granted. Even worse, we might start to think we are entitled to them – as though by default they should simply be ours because, well because, well because they should…
Now I am not suggesting a failure of realism. There is more than enough to be concerned about in the world – and indeed, this is one of the more worrying times in history. The issues we face are serious, and the polarisation that is taking place is deeply concerning. However it is precisely because it is so easy to become overwhelmed by what it going wrong that we need to make a decision to note what is going right. If we don’t do this my fear is that we will become listless and apathetic… convinced that nothing will ever work, and blind to the positives around us. We need energy to tackle the issues of our time – and cynicism and despair will not provide this for us.
Remember that what is going wrong insists on being noticed. It screams at you, and demands attention. If your house is flooded, you will notice it the moment you enter. But on the 10 272 days you enter and it is not flooded you will think nothing of it. You will bite into the burnt pie and mutter, “bother, tastes like charcoal” but barely notice what you are swallowing when the temperature settings have been right. It takes an active decision to notice what it right.
When we make that decision, we will most probably observe that life’s negatives are singular while its positives are plural.
It is alleged that Queen Elizabeth 1 said on her deathbed, “And all my possessions for a moment of time.” Oliver Burkeman’s book “Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals” reminds us that most of us can expect around 4000 weeks of life. How we fill each week will make our time on this planet more, or less, remarkable. I’ve had around 3550 of them, and am grateful for each one… grateful enough to hope for an extension, somewhere between 4500 and 5000 sounds good to me. But whatever the number, I came into the world naked – I am not anymore. I’m definitely ahead. And I am grateful.
And regardless of the number, I am grateful for the wonderful people I get to share my life with, I’m grateful for Jesus, for eternity and because I’m still around. And like Granny Smith, I’d suggest that you count your blessings two by two – or four by four – or name them by the score – for it will amaze you there are millions more…
Nice chatting…
Photo by George Dolgikh: https://www.pexels.com/photo/thank-you-signage-2072165/
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