Cheerful and Grateful 4

My lovely hubby has pointed out to me that I have been a right moan this week and he even commented that he would be surprised if I had anything cheerful to write this week! Cheeky shite that he is. He is right that I moan a lot though. It is sometimes difficult to be positive in a world full of negativity but what I need to remember is how good I actually have it. Sometimes it is good to stop and look at the bigger picture. That is what I have chosen to do this week.

I am grateful for

image courtesy of Kurdistan Commentry

1. Freedom of Speech - I was shocked when I was watching the news tonight and I saw a Sky News Report from Libya. A woman was trying to tell British journalists that she was raped and brutalised by Gaddafi's henchmen. She was physical restrained, threatened and escorted from the building. After threatening the journalists with a gun, they left the hotel, taking the woman in a car and refused to disclose where they were taking her. I am grateful that I live in a country where I have the freedom of speech and laws in place to protect me. I don't want to go into the politics or have a controversial discussion about our presence in Libya but I am glad that our country is not just sitting back and doing nothing. When people look back on atrocities that took place during civil unrest in countries like Rwanda and Cambodia, the general consensus would be that we shouldn't have sat back and did nothing and that it should never happen again.

image by The Family

2. Free and available healthcare - I've never really thought about it much but since becoming a mum I realise how much I depend and in some ways take for granted, the healthcare options I have freely available for my family. When I  watched the clips on Red Nose Day I felt so grateful that my child has not only living in a safe environment that prevents him from contracting life threatening illnesses but that we also have the vaccinations and medications readily available to prevent such disease. It's not just developing countries who have issues with healthcare. There are many people across the pond in the States who can't afford health insurance. They often can't afford to pay for expensive tests and treatments for themselves or their family.

image by Scam warning

3. A comparatively stable weather system and very few natural disasters - OK, so I live in Scotland so our weather is not great. We have loads of rain, drizzle, fog and in winter it can be really dreary. This winter we had lots of snow which brought most of Britain to a standstill. It was more of an inconvenience though than a direct threat to our lives.There are people in parts of Britain who have suffered from terrible flooding but thankfully our area is on higher ground so is very rarely flooded. I am grateful to live in Scotland where there is little or no risk of tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, droughts, floods, forest fires, sinkholes and earthquakes. One weather problem we are really not likely to have is a extreme heat wave! If the temp goes above 16c we get our paddling pools out and our sun cream on.