Blessings for Week 2 - Bottoms UP

Have you watched the news lately? Have you turned off the tube totally inspired by what you saw? Yeah, didn't think so. We haven't been uplifted by the media these days either. So you can imagine how ridiculously psyched we are that so many have joined us on our journey of Counting our Blessings. As one of our commenters put it, 52 Weeks of Happy Clips. Come on, people, join in on the adventure and I'll guarantee that our "media" will have you smiling when you walk away. If taking pictures is not your thing, that's ok, just find a way to journal each week what it is you're thankful for (even if its just leaving a comment here that tells us why you're blessed). And just think, the next time someone tells you to count your blessings, you can whip out your journal, whatever format its in, and say "I'm way ahead of you, buddy!" If you're just joining us, check out our post on 11/25 to see what the heck we're talking about.

Now on to week two of our 52 Weeks of Blessings. I almost rear-ended two people this week, looking around at all the things I was thankful for. Amazing how your perspective can change overnight when you're making a conscious effort to search out your blessings. Although I'd recommend keeping your eyes on the road - but that gets me thinking: I'm thankful for the great brakes on my jeep!

So I'm not wealthy by American standards, but I think we've set that bar way too high anyway. Have you ever considered how the majority of our world lives (have you ever watched National Geographic?)? My love of photography blossomed as I began travelling, and the best places I've ever been have been countries that are certainly not known for their wealth. Asia is my favorite continent so far, and I've been to India twice. It is vastly different from America, and the areas that I've travelled within India have been so impoverished that I'm actually embarassed to come home and see how very wealthy I truly am.

These images are so common in many countries. Walking for up to two miles to get clean water, most villages in the southern part of India do not even have access to drinking water without this trek. I watched kids playing in rivers where oxen were being bathed, while women washed their clothes in the same body of water and yup, you guessed it, that's also what they were filling their jugs with to take home to drink.

So this week, I am thankful for what I guarantee all of us take for granted.

I'm thankful that:

1. When I turn the faucet on, the water that comes out is clean and drinkable

2. I don't have to walk for miles to get water

3. I can throw my clothes in a machine and it does the work for me, instead of walking to a local river and busting my knuckles

4. We have such an abundance of water that it pours out of fountains for our viewing enjoyment

5. I don't have to worry about whether my family will get sick from drinking water

So next time you stand under that shower head, you need to grin, because you're blessed, too. And as you pour your sixth glass of water and grumble at how boring it tastes, change that perspective and count your blessings - its clean. So drink up and stay healthy!

As a final thought - if any of you have interest in helping those who do not have the blessing of clean drinking water, we work with a wonderful organization in southern India that can make that miracle happen for local villages. Drilling and installing a well that will water hundreds of Indians costs around 500USD and can save countless lives. Please contact us directly at contact@atlasdesigns.net for further information. Maybe this post can serve to not only remind us of our blessings, but also to change lives.

Keep those comments coming, everyone - we love to hear from you.