Counting blessings in the Valley

There’s been lots of talk this past year about the top 1 percent who control the lion’s share of wealth in the U.S. Most of us — if not all of us — are those people. Whether you are rich or less wealthy, the focus this time of year is on blessings, not tax brackets.

For us, how rich one is depends on what yardstick is used to take that measure.

If you are a family enduring its first holiday season after the loss of a loved one, there’s no stack of hundreds you wouldn’t trade to fill that empty seat at your table. What would that mother give to have her son back to share this season with his new niece? A stack of hundreds to Mars and back she’d gladly give to see his face there at the Thanksgiving table.

If you are sharing this day with family, enjoy every gravy-soaked second. Life changes quickly, and those we love will not always be seated at our holiday table.

Counting blessings is something that takes practice. Perhaps you’ve noticed friends on Facebook who post status updates listing at least one thing each day for which they are thankful. One of our staff members is starting on her second year of such posts. She said it was hard at first to think of a blessing each day, but that by the time she reached the end of that first year, it has become a habit she can’t stop.

It’s a good idea to take time to tally your blessings. It’s a priceless habit that won’t even make you fat or cause lung disease.

While we admire our friend the blessing counter, we are not so sure thankfulness is as easy a mindset to acquire as she says. But we see many benefits if she is right.

So here’s what we propose. Let’s try it for 30 days. Let’s count our blessing and acknowledge them publically. Send us your list as a letter to the editor — news@frontiersman.com — or post it to our Facebook page. Either way, we want to hear about your richest blessings.

Here are a few of our blessings to start: family, safety, love, friends, warm homes, food, clothing, firewood, electricity, reliable vehicles, jobs, our children, our parents, good schools, good roads, fire and emergency services, police and troopers, doctors, nurses, dentists, teachers, the snow plow guy and his friend the loader guy, community organizers, our many church communities, non-profits like United Way and Family Promise Mat-Su, and last but not least, good neighbors.

Here’s to you, Mat-Su. Happy Thanksgiving.