A Grateful Nation...pffft...Yeah, Right

So, this year has not been kind. To any of us. AT all.

And, when things don't go well, when we're sad, when we think the universe is conspiring to ruin our good times, we tend to do a few things. We mope, or we complain, or we point fingers.  It's rare that when life hands you lemons, you give thought to the best lemonade recipe you know, even though that's what we try to do and it might even be what we say we do.  It just does not always work out like that.
What I want to be able to do, ideally, is look at a situation as an OPPORTUNITY.  Even those situatons that are working my nerves--I wish I was  able to be THANKFUL that I have a situation that can really test my problem-solving skills.
Wouldn't that be awesome? If I could look at it that way?  Imagine how my perspectives would shift about everything.  Nothing would be awful because everything would be a lesson in which I had a chance to learn something.
So, bottom line, I wish I was thankful for ALL opportunity, not just the ones that may provide immediate, tangible benefits.

So...your turn.
What do you WISH you could be thankful for?  How come you're not?  Can you see any way to change your own mind about it?

The 7-Point Creed: Setting the Moral Compass

This is something sacred to me.  I don't feel that way often, but about this, I do. This, to me, is one of the most important things I will ask of you. To me, this is the key to your success, and you all know that is always my primary goal.

I keep meaning to explain this to you in a very conversational way, but somehow there never seems to be enough time to be able to really just "talk" to you. So, in an effort to make better use of "time," I have relied on the wonders of Wikipedia to be able to explain the 7-point Creed, which is the integral foundation of this week's blog question.
Without further ado--

John Wooden's Seven Point Creed,[1] given to him by his father Joshua upon his graduation from grammar school:
* Be true to yourself.
* Make each day your masterpiece.
* Help others.
* Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
* Make friendship a fine art.
* Build a shelter against a rainy day.
* Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.

If you don't know who John Wooden is, LOOK HIM UP HERE--his story is quite remarkable. As a coach, I deeply admired  him and the things he accomplished. As a human being, he is amazing in every sense of the word and one of the few people I can honestly say I aspire to emulate. As you know, I don't say that about very many people.

In any case, your task for this week is to come up with your own 7-Point Creed and share it here. I know that I am asking a lot of you. I know that this is not something you can do in two-three days. And this is why I am extending the deadline until Sunday night (the 20th). You will really need to put a lot of thought into this.
 Ask yourself these questions to help you along:

What do I value?
What are my morals?
How do I want to be perceived by others?
What do I want my legacy to be?
What have I learned in my life?
What else do I want to learn?

Now, I certainly don't want you to answer those questions and consider that to be your creed. Remember, a creed is a sort of guideline for living, but it is also completely subjective. Look at Wooden's creed again. The statements there are kind of ambiguous and can be open to interpretation, don't you think? So, when you are doing this, try to keep that in mind. However, it is precisely BECAUSE the statements are ambiguous that you will have to explain what you mean by them, what they mean to you and why you chose them. Always the why.
What you are basically doing is creating a blueprint by which you can live your life. YOUR life. Nobody else's.
After all, who is more important than you?