Life Without Freedom: Simplistic Things We Take for Granted

         I grew up in a stable, middle-class home full of love and hard work.  I had the support of two loving, well adjusted, morally sound, parents.  They were full of love and full of resources.  Never was I without plenty.  I literally grew up in MayBerry Land in the epitome of the American dream.  We had your proverbial white picket fence, two stall garage, dog in the yard, flowers in the garden family that wore smiles most of the time and actually smiled out of actual genuine happiness.
         For all intensive purposes, I grew up an only child.  This is not to say I didn't have to share the limelight with several siblings, but they were so damn old, I grew up an only kid.  The fruit of both of my parents loins and love; I exist from pure desire for my existence.  Though I come from a one parent working family (middle class at best), my path was paved with nothing less than gold.  I'll get back to this later but first.......
         Do you love the ability to clip your nails when you desire? Isn't it nice to grab a fork to eat your food when you deem necessary? These are a few things we don't even think about as liberties.  It's a true joy to have a TV that needs dusting; a floor that needs vacuuming; PORCELAIN toilets that belong to you and need cleaning; dogs that need walking; food that needs cooking; rent that needs to be paid; groceries that need to be bought; love that needs tending to.  The list goes on and on!  The majority of that sounds like a taxing bunch of bullshit!

Liberties....these things we think we are ENTITLED to....Things we somehow think we have a RIGHT to.   Things we don't EVEN know we have until they are taken away from us.

           I am 30 years old.  My parents have sustained the backbone of my life all 30 years.  Hell, I will ALWAYS have nail clippers because of them! I will always have a CUP to pour water in to drink because of them!  I'm one of the lucky ones that do not have to worry about running out of these resources.  I do nothing to receive such a blessing; the blessing of knowing I will never sleep on the streets or be without clippers and a fork.  In my career I've seen a lot.  I've worked with many youth who do not have this comfort or the ability to have their own nail clippers.  They are such simplistic, minute things that we overlook as gifts and a right to have.  Americans are raised with this sense of entitlement.   I'm no better than the rest of us.  I expect the option of a fork vs. a spoon.  I expect to be able to choose my Religion, voice my opinion on this and that, put make-up on when I feel like, and dress however I want when I want.  What most American's do not realize is that there is a large population of the world that do not have that option.  They have either done something that causes those liberties to be removed, government does not allow, or simply they do not have that family/friend support to supply them with what they need.
           I'm someone that got lucky.  For no reason this world chooses some to be blessed that way and others are condemned to struggle for the entirety of their lives.  I have many youth I counseled that were born into dysfunction, anger, and impoverished.  They possess souls of gold but do not have the resources many of us do.  I don't deserve the gold path paved for me with love, care, morals, values, and boundaries but I have it.  Do we really and truly at the end of the day all deserve a right to nail clippers and the choice between a fork and spoon?  We deserve it but we all don't have that right or resource.
         Without disclosing my whole story, heed some advice, the next time you're in an argument be thankful you're able to argue with that loved one in person and not in a monitored conversation that can only last a few minutes.  When you cry, be thankful you have tissue to wipe your tears and hopefully someone to cry to.  When life gets overwhelming and you cannot take it anymore, remember you have nail clippers, a hair brush, maybe some moose, a mirror to look in, and a toilet to go to the bathroom in. I spent some time in Tijuana, Mexico back in 2001.  Most of us do not have to discard of our excrement in a hole dug next to our pitiful shack we share with 10 people.  The list of things we feel entitled to and have a right to can go on and on.  There is no rhyme or reason as to why some of us get lucky and some of us don't.  At the end, we're all not entitled to these things, some of us just get lucky.
          It's just as we are not entitled to God's love for us and the plentiful resources provided to us through that.  We are not entitled to that forgiveness.  We are just blessed.  So don't let a moment go by without recognizing what we have or who we have.  Moments are fleeting and so can our possessions and liberties.

You did nothing to earn it but God gives it to you anyways. Be thankful.