Friday 25 March 2011

Who Am I To Moan



Seventy-nine hours of sunshine so far in Shropshire this month! And I feel I have been out in every one of them. For those of you who live in countries where you can rely on your annual quota of sunshine this probably means nothing, but for the inhabitants of the South Shropshire Hills, where mist, rain and grey skies seemingly hang about forever, it is the difference between slouching from place to place, head down in misery and a spring in the step and a smile for everyone.

So, who am I to moan.

I live in a part of the world which is not shaken by earthquakes, which suffers no tsunamis, which does not groan under the heel of a tyrant; water and food are plentiful,  I have a house to live in, a roof over my head. My loved ones are safe,  we need not cower and hide from bombs or guns, we can speak our mind freely. If we don't like our government - and who ever does? - we simply say so at an election, where we can freely exercise our civic right, without let or hindrance. Many of us take this right so much for granted that we ignore it, we hardly even bother to go to the polls. We make it a national hobby to complain about the weather, we moan about the rain, we say "They" should stop rivers bursting their banks and then we go and build houses on floodplains.

All we need to do is look around us and see, really take in, what is happening in so many parts of the world at the moment, the suffering of innocents; read Anne Thomas' blog from Sendai, about the quiet dignity of the people of Japan and the truly inspirational way they are dealing with the greatest catastrophe the country has suffered since WWII; watch the pictures from North Africa and hear the voices of doctors and other medical staff who are working under impossible conditions in shelled and damaged hospitals.

We have so much to be thankful for.

I am not really one for homilies and wagging forefingers; I do my share of moaning and complaining; but for me the mood of the moment is one of gratitude and humility; I would urge a spirit of compassion on all of us and for all of us to let this spirit guide us to do all we can, be it ever so little, to help alleviate the suffering of the innocents.

38 comments:

  1. Friko - thank you for another great post. You've said everything. Our hearts go out to the people of Japan. I felt especially touched by the Fire Officer who lost forty five of his men trying to shut the gates against the tsunami. And all those people crammed like sardines in those makeshift shelters and not being able to go outside.Here, we have so much to be thankful for!

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  2. friko i am grateful to you for your loving and kind perspective on the glories and simple joys that we experience sometimes without gratitude simply because we are busy but which people around the world would gladly experience even for a moment - if they could. steven

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  3. Thank you for sharing such great thoughts with us. I agree with you hold heartily. That is truly a breathtaking photo you shared today. Such a lovely, green and peaceful place. More people need to give thanks instead of complaining so much.

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  4. To have a pervading gratefulness is a worthy aspiration. Poignant reflection.

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  5. For many of us, when there are blessings,
    we need to acknowledge them, and our
    hearts should never harden to our
    brothers and sisters mired in chaos,
    for tragedy has no dominion, and it
    can darken our door when it pleases.

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  6. Friko, you've expressed, so very well, many of the thoughts that have been swirling round my head this week.

    I have had a tough time in my micro days, yet know my troubles are nothing, nothing when I look a bit into the world and see what others' days have included.

    xo

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  7. Well stated...I am quick to forget my blessings...a week ago our snow and ice seemed miniscule compared to Japan; then we received a huge snow storm this week and my complaining started again...so thank you for the much needed reminder! My own little world is a true haven...

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  8. Every morning when I awaken I look to the light and say my morning prayers. I praise God and thank Him for all my blessings. I am so grateful my health is better that each day is filled with a joy I cannot explain. I am so blessed.
    QMM

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  9. A nice post. I wouldn't do well in your un-sunny climate. I would be doing worse than slouching from place to place. I'm afraid I would be in bed, burdened to a deep depression by the lack of sunshine. Yet I agree with you that it is so essential that we find the bright spots and hold them dear. We are fortunate beyond description, aren't we?

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  10. Exactly. Let's just give our heads a shake and realize how bloody lucky we are. I am astonished at the bravery demonstrated in Japan, as well as Yemen, Syria and Libya. We are so cossetted.

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  11. No lottery win can compare to the dumb good fortune that has been bestowed, randomly and undeservedly on so many of us. The world is erupting in agony and we are concerned about the price of gas.

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  12. Dear Friko,
    a beautiful post - thinking that gratitude is the way to happiness I see you have counted your blessings - and your picture shows how beautiful they are, Shropshire Lad. My heart feels for Japan where we are shown that happiness is a fragile thing, men being so helpless in the face of a nature that is wild under the shepherds idyll.

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  13. Well said. So many of us are very fortunate, and it is good to acknowledge it.
    In my state it is election day, and the government is sure to be defeated crushingly. We have compulsory voting, and the people will have spoken well and truly.
    I encountered the six degrees of separation, as two members of my choir are Japanese, and were in Tokyo when the earthquake struck. One of them described her experience. She was on the platform of a railway station when it struck and at first she thought it was just a 'normal' earthquake, but then realised how severe it was. She was unhurt, but had to walk home. It took her six hours. She knows she was lucky.

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  14. We are indeed very lucky and every natural disaster makes us realise how rich our lives are .
    So supporting long-term aid projects or a charity like Save The Children is the least we can do .
    And , no , it's never enough .

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  15. Never has a truer post been written.

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  16. ein schönes berührendes Post, das einfach keiner Worte mehr gebraucht...!

    Dir ein schönes sonniges Wochenende, liebe Friko!

    Renée

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  17. You have expressed exactly what my husband and I say to each other on an almost daily basis. We are thankful to live in this green and pleasant land.

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  18. My goodness, give Friko a little sunshine and she becomes the sunshine girl! So glad that you are getting lovely weather in your lovely countryside!

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  19. Lovely blog Friko - when we look around the world and see what everyday people accept as the norm - no freedom of speech - poverty - sickness - war and disasters - we surely must count our blessings x

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  20. Truly well said Friko. I remember my mother telling me how lucky I was to be growing up in Paris – that so many people would love to live there – but I wanted to see the world. It is very sunny here in the Deep South but we have tornadoes occasionally. We are used to the sun though and grey skies make our moods go way down. I have read your last 4 posts and enjoyed them so much – such a variety of subjects – a party, a tale, a horoscope and all these with lovely photographs. It is a pleasure to visit your blog. Now I must get ready for my birthday lunch.

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  21. How wonderful, Friko. I also am feeling very blessed, not only to live in a place where bombs are not falling, I can express myself freely, and I have a community of bloggers like you who remind me to be grateful. For that, I am truly grateful.

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  22. What you've said here so well, Friko, is the echo of many hearts. We would do well to practice gratitude.

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  23. I too am very lucky. Thank you for reminding me of that.

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  24. Wonderful reflections Friko. Every now and then I remember to have an attitude of gratitude. Thanks for the reminder. Dianne

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  25. Thank you Friko for putting my thoughts into such well written words. Indeed we have so much to be grateful for but most of us take our freedom for granted. Let us hope that we remember what sacrifices people are making right now in order to win the right to have a say in their government when we are next called to the voting booths (very soon for us here in Canada).

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  26. You are so blessed, Friko, as are so many of us. It just seems unfair that the Japanese--living wisely and judiciously--would be inundated by the hounds of hell. They are now working so graciously to put themselves together. I am helping with a group called Prayers from Japan, Aquatic Angels, to send shelter boxes (living supplies in a crate), and I know there are so many opportunities to help out there... Love

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  27. So well put. Those of us who have the means and leisure to blog are so blessed compared with so many in the world.

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  28. I am another who has nothing to complain about, I am most fortunate to live where I do and to have all that I do have.

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  29. Okay...you are on. What does 'taking the Mickey mean?' You probably have 'pegged' me in some way...but not sure?

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  30. Yes. And I complain about too much information. Then I remind myself that it is nothing compared with living in this suffering. I read a beautiful NYTimes article about one homeless shelter in Japan: a junior high school where 1,000 are dwelling. It is orderly, they recycle, recharge cell phones, leave them in a basket and no one steals them, they have rigged up plastic tarp baths for 25 people. Their way of life is in them, and they are maintaining in grace. It is a stellar lesson to me.

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  31. This was so inspiring, Friko, thank you. I remind myself constantly of all that I have to be grateful for, even if it means just being grateful for clean water. We are so blessed.

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  32. A lovely post. Thank you. We are blessed beyond our deserving.

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  33. You said it so well, Friko. I do live in earthquake country and for me the disaster in Japan has really hit home. I've been complaining way less since then and feel lots more gratitude.

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  34. Having "someone pegged" means that you think of them in a certain way...you think you have them figured out. This urban dictionary conversation shows how amazing it is that we understand each other at all!

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  35. Yes, we're lucky in Britain to live in a temperate zone. But to achieve a democracy (wonky though it is) took centuries of struggle. It wasn't "god-given". In the past Britain had invasions from the Romans, Saxons, Vikings and Normans - these were as bloody and merciless as situations in, for instance, Libya, Africa, Iraq etc today (the ancient Britons were quite ruthless too!) The present relative peace in Britain took struggle and thought, not just luck. Not sure what the future will bring, though, with the massive debt!

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  36. Beautifully said Friko. I could not agree more.

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  37. Dear Benno,

    My human says this is the most appropriate post to comment on, seeing as how I have been moaning about my cold butt wash. You are obviously having it much worse with your brrr weather. I'm glad you managed to find a spot of sunshine to lie down in. I hope you have a bit more spring weather by now so that the ice cold water won't be so ice cold when you go take a dip. Despite your obviously brave heart, it is NOT good for old arthritic dogs. (I should know, I live with one.)

    That's all then. Take care :)

    P.S. You live in a Very Beautiful Place.

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