Being Grateful (or Grapefruit)

When my husband and I first got together, I wasn't in the best place and he always reminded me that we should look at what we DID have instead of what we lacked - and our code word for that was "being grapefruit." And there is much to be grapefruit for.

Just read an article on Alternet decrying the cynicism of some pundits who are saying that the new government is just the same old same old...and throwing up their hands.  It's a great excuse for doing nothing, isn't it?  But we can make our world better by being "grapefruit" for what we have and trying to raise up the level of the whole, while addressing the problems we truly have. There is a wisdom in acting locally and thinking globally, I think.

I like watching certain shows - like the medical ones - which are set in what we used to call Third World countries, where they go into the homes of the patients and we thereby can see how they really live.  Doesn't the average American home look palatial in comparison?  Even a rural Kentucky mobile home I saw recently on a show is infinitely superior to anything in a working class home elsewhere - no?

We really do have so much.  Do you realize that built-in cabinets are not part of German apartments, for example - you have to bring your OWN.  So people do without! When my sister and her husband moved to Germany, they had to wash their dishes in the bathroom sink until they could save up enough to put in a proper kitchen! Now, who would think of that?

My husband and I have 2 vehicles - old, but still - TWO.  And we have cable TV and high speed internet in my little apartment - and even a dishwasher! Think of all the gadgets and contraptions we all have - cd players and recorders and game consoles and, and....

Not to mention hair dryers and straighteners and other hair tools and all sorts of personal care gadgets...

I have those, and I think I live rather simply,  Now, I dont' use them all the time, and most of them were bought used or were a bargain - and I do use them professionally to do my hair - but still, think of the convenience!

If you don't notice the backgrounds of those Medical Miracle shows which take you to other countries - or the weird food shows or anything set in everyday Asia or Africa,,, and take a good look next time.  A good hard look.  It will give you a new take on things, I am sure.  It makes me grapefruit, I know that.  And helps to keep everything in proper perspective....even as we are tightening our own belts.

P.S. I am wearing a nice pair of sox I seem to have WON from No-Nonsense - ?? - I got 2 pair, actually....and the lotion freebies keep on coming in. I was shocked to have to pay for matches in London years ago when I was a student...Here we have stuff with advertising on it - or part of advertising - A nice side effect of our system....

There are also execs on private jets who havent gotten the message, but since I hear that the folks from Detroit are carpooling on their next trip to Washington, I think they are getting clued in.

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Are You Grapefruit?

Time to think about how much we have....

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