I am so glad that I believe each Thanksgiving finds some new vegetarians and vegans. Needless to say, I am most grateful that I have been one for years, and it was all thanks to Peaches, my first puppy. I often wonder why other people are not moved to compassion for all animals as I, after experiencing the love of a very special dog.
Many people will write today that they are grateful for family and friends, and of course so am I. First and foremost I am grateful for my caring and loving sister Anna who has been my best friend and tireless helper in my times of needs great and small. Too many to enumerate here, but I am so grateful that I recently wrote a loving tribute to her which I shared with her and her family. We seem to save saying nice things about loved ones for their funerals. No, I got a chance to say loving things about her now in my little tribute, complete with some special photos. I am grateful to God for this inspiration. You may want to do the same for those you love and cherish.
Now for friends, whom at my age I certainly need now: thank you God for Mohammed for taking me for eye exams and to the Perpetual Adoration Chapel on Thursdays. All of a sudden I have started to hate driving. Thank you Allen, for helping me with all the many odd jobs owning a small home entails. You too are a gift from God. And so is Sorin when it comes to fixing my computer problems. I am a bonafide klutz with computers. And finally there is Michael who drives me to another church on Fridays because it is the parish priest's day off. Shopping or banking needs follow. God bless all of you for your kindness.
I also hope that many of us are grateful for believing in a kind and loving God. Yes, I know that sometimes this is hard because we want to know why there is so much cruelty and suffering in the world and there are no good answers. But I still believe and pray -- thanks to my Slovak mom who had my two sisters and I kneel each night before bedtime when she taught us the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be in Old Slavonic.
Sometimes I try to say them today in this old church language but can only make it half way through --though of course, I say them every day in English when praying the rosary. Thank you Mom for instilling in us a love of God and His Mother.
Thank you God for any compassionate moves for animals. The Humane Society of the U.S. has kept us apprised of some big food corporations moving in the direction of getting chickens out of cages and pigs out of gestation crates. Both have been shamefully used by Big-Ag for years and this has translated into torture for these poor innocent farm animals.
Thank you God that finally the cruel elephant shows are going to be phased out from the Ringling Brothers Circus by 2018. Why not 20l6? Animal exploiters always seem to try to get the last ounce of exploitation they can out of the animals they hold captive. These poor elephants have suffered enough already and they should be ready to cast off their cruel circus memories and start enjoying doing things which make them happy.
The last thank you I found in a Rainforest Alliance post this morning. Yes, we sometimes take the trees and forests for granted. Here they gave 4 reasons why we should be grateful for trees:
1. Thank you forests for providing homes for billions of animals. 70% of the world's species live in forests.
2. Thank you forests for helping us to breathe. Forests absorb nearly 40% of man-made fossil fuel emissions every year.
3. Thank you forests for fostering livelihood for 1.1 million farms in rainforest regions which use old methods designed to protect ecosystems, workers, and local communities.
4. Thank you forests for giving us our favorite foods. The rainforests produce beloved staples of our holiday meals including chocolates, cinnamon, and coffee.
Well, the reasons for being thankful our limitless and I am sure we will find many more of them in the different blogs appearing on Thanksgiving Day. It is good to know that despite so much suffering and cruelty in this world that we can still also find much that is good and be grateful to God for them.
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