it's the fourth of july, 2012. what a wild time to be an american! but i am very grateful as the clock rings in another fourth of july for the bounty of this country. i a grateful for every american who has fought to make this idea a reality. i am grateful for the founding fathers. i am grateful for the humility in george washington who set the precedent for a democracy of the people instead of a monarchy. i'm grateful to thomas jefferson for his eloquent words in the declaration of inependence. i'm grateful for those who lost so much in signing it. i'm grateful to the brits for knowing when the point of diminishing return was. i'm grateful to every single american who has taken the words of the declaration of independence to heart and worked towards making this country a light of hope for the world. i pray that we may be worthy of the sacrifices of those who have gone before us and not squander our brotherhood on internal fighting after the point of it being productive. i wish all of you a happy healthy celebration of our nation's birthday!

well said Ms Lisa :-)

Hear, Hear!!

I am grateful for good people that surprise you. For my home and my fiance's love and friendship. For my health and that of my children's health. I am thankful to God for a new start each time I fall short. and I am grateful for you Lisa and the platform you have given so many. Much love to you~

Tara Klinges

you are very kind, tara. i'm grateful for you and your talent and that you share it here! i'm grateful for your romantic happiness, because it means that if you found it again so can many! i'm grateful this morning for the ability to change my attitude when i feel it falling. i'm glad it's a c hoice.

i'm grateful for dreams.they can be beautiful or scary, but they are a cool way to enter another realm every single day. i heard a neuroscientist say that are our real world happened more when we were asleep than while we are alive. our brain needs all of that creative thinking that happens in our subconscious!

i can't go into details here, but you guys are going to have to trust me on this one. today a man was so so so professional in a job that is slamming down on him. by all rights, he could have said screw it. but he cared about something to do with me. and he went that extra mile just to do his job WELL. and i will never forget this person or how he put another human in front of how rotten he is being treated at his workplace. i am grateful.

<3 Lisa <3 it is always so inspiring to encounter another soul that gives us the courtesy and consideration that they would like extended to themselves.

isn't it, maryanne? sometimes people like this have NO idea how much good they did. but they restore our faith in our fellow brothers and sisters, and that is a HUGE thing! you restore my faith every day, maryanne the artist and friend!

Grateful for the summer, and being able to just enjoy the moments!!

that's nice, mr ;-)

i'm so grateful for someone's kindness. i wish i could go into detail here, but suffice it to say that kindness is everything in this ole world.

i'm grateful every single time someone is kind to me. kindness is not discussed enough or valued enough. we live in very coarse times. people are quick to say things like "whateverrrr" "gotta go" "it is the way it is", etc.kindness takes time and patience and priority. it comes from compassion. and any time someone is kind to me, i feel it deep in my heart and hold it there like a cherished gift forever.

 Grateful to know you Lisa, we thought about you today, when we saw things you would like, and MaryRose and I both wore Wifflesneaks. We're  grateful for you.

Well that is very very kind, Brenda! Thank you. I'm very grateful for this post and your sharing such nice words. It came at a good time for me tonight. I was thinking of you guys too and so glad you're enjoying your time together in beautiful Vermont! I'm also glad you guys got wifflesneaks while they were still available! :-) I'm grateful for you guys too!

Grateful for the chance to have a little vacation with my family!  So blessed to have such wonderful, generous people in our lives!!  The time together is priceless!!

it sounded like it was a beautiful time, maryrose! i'm so glad you could make a memory together! :-)

I tough out the whole summer for a beautiful crisp autumnal night like last night to cuddle up and sleep better. I'm so grateful for fall!!!

I'm so grateful for help with the heat...it could have so much worse, but due to the kindness of someone it wasn't. I am so grateful for kindness whenever I see it/experience it. It's what makes living worthwhile!

i can not begin to describe the gratitude i have for electricity this week. my heart goes out to all of my fellow storm victims who had it so much worse than i did. my love and appreciation for the line workers and the first responders is something i can't seem to put into words. 

I'm grateful you're ok, MR, but I sure do wish you had power long before now!! I'm very grateful today to live in a country where we are each free to vote and where that still matters!

Grateful for all the gifts I've been given, the people in my life, and my family!  So happy I am able to help other families, even in a small way, this Thanksgiving! 

i'm so grateful to have electricity, running clean water, and the connection to the world which so many STILL don't have after this monster storm. let's all give what we can wherever we can!

I am grateful for living in a community of kindhearted, compassionate, talented people with the desire and motivation to help others. I am blessed to be able to join these people and make great steps to improving lives for others.

helen, there isn't much better than that. people sometimes stuff themselves and fight with their family instead of getting the true joy out of thanksgiving by REALLY feeling part of a REAL community....a real community includes people helping people. and nothing brings more happiness than that! 

Wiffledust is not a reglious site, and all faiths are welcome here. Having said that, I thought this was pretty: 

Help Me Thanksgiving Day Prayer

O God, when I have food,
help me to remember the hungry;
When I have work,
help me to remember the jobless;
When I have a home,
help me to remember those who have no home at all;
When I am without pain,
help me to remember those who suffer,
And remembering,
help me to destroy my complacency;
bestir my compassion,
and be concerned enough to help;
By word and deed,
those who cry out for what we take for granted.
Amen.

-Samuel F. Pugh

i am very grateful for this site and for all of you. 

Check this submission out from our new member John Cook....on Gratitude:

Yoo hooo...gratitude people? Let's keep the group going!

I just spent a month under very controlled circumstances (due to a difficult domestic situation):  no privacy, curfews, an underheated house in dead of winter and 10 people using one bathroom and kitchen.  Today I can't say how grateful I am for my own room with my own queen size bed and my dad's beloved DVD/TV, in a typical overheated NYC apartment with unlimited shower time and the opportunity to feed and pet my cat.

we take some of those daily things for granted, don't we, pamela? i'm grateful you have those individualisms back again! 

at this very moment in time (11:51 p.m.) I am grateful for the beautiful yellow flowers my husband brought me for no other reason than he loves me :-) The flowers are yellow, my favorite color ~ ahhhhh, I love them. I am grateful for yellow flowers in the middle of freezing January. I needed a splash of festivity from Mother Natures bounty.

Gratiful for the day, whatever it holds...

Grateful for my daughter's surgery going smoothly and she is now home. Grateful that my new grandson Cooper is being born soon and that he and mom are doing well during their labor (squeak! I'm so excited!) Grateful that my granddaughter and I get to spend time together this weekend indoor skydiving while Mom and Cooper and Dad and Mr P settle in ... ummmm, and I am just plain grateful! Oh yes, and grateful for discovering Teavana Teas!!!!! OMG heaven in a cup!

i am grateful your daughter's surgery was going well and that she's now home too! and i'm excited that Cooper is being born soon and for all your "heaven in a cup, maryanne! yay! i'm grateful today for the help of kind souls. sometimes you need a hand, and i'm grateful for it!!!

The sun is shining and the sky is blue and we are going to warm up today to high 20's...YAY ! Happy dance here !

This is the day that the Lord has made......

Grateful I don't have to live in a shelter or a church, and that I have a full pantry in the roof over my head.  Today I helped Occupy Sandy Kitchen make 1700 meals for the homeless in Far Rockaway, Brooklyn and Staten Island.  Imagine all those families who have lost their homes...

love it, nancy! 1700 meals for rockaway and staten island, pamela? that's so many meals. and so needed! i'm grateful to know someone who cares this much! this disaster was a nightmare and an ongoing one. we all need to pitch in. i'm grateful you did today!

Wow, what a beautiful act of giving Pamela and I too am filled with gratitude for just plain 'ol days ... Cooper arrived at 4 a.m. :-) And helping hands are beautiful hands ..... Tomorrow, I will let gratitude fill me up to the brim as I and my granddaughter have fun in a wind tunnel for simulated sky diving!!! whoooopie!!! Hugs to all!

I am grateful that I walked away unharmed after hitting ace and going 50 feet into the woods and down an embankment recently  Also that a friend was able to fix the renal car I was driving a week after the accident for $800 instead of $1700 so my insurance won't go up. Grateful I found out why I was losing my voice and being able to resolve it. Grateful for all the people who came to my support and helped me. Grateful I wasn't having another heart attack when I went to the ER during all of this. And finally, grateful I am going to Florida to rejuvenate my spirit.

I meant ice, not ace :-)

Sherry, figured you it was ice and not ace! Thankful you are in Florida rejuvenating your spirit and be safe out there!

wow, sherry! lately i'm thinking you don't have one gaurdian angel but rather a flippin' platoon of angels!!!!! i'm so glad you're ok!! 

Let's all us Northeasterners be grateful for heat and hot water.  Wind chills in the single digits in NYC today.

oh i'm so so so grateful for heat, pamela! and hot water. my heart is going out to sandy victims who are still struggling. it's so cold here! brrrrr!

i'm grateful for people i can trust. people who want my good. people who are kind. people who see things i can't see. 

where are you, folks? come and tell us what you're grateful for! i'm particularly grateful for plain old fashioned kindness lately. it makes life worth living. i'm so appreciative when someone is kind to me. 

I'm grateful for the support and encouragement (and a sympathetic ear on occasion) that I've received during some recent bad times from some of my Wiffledust friends.  You have no idea how much your friendship has helped me!  Have a great day everyone! 

I'm grateful for my husband because he is always working his hardest to provide for us.