COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS INSTEAD OF SHEEP

In 1954 A movie starring Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney was released to the silver screen. The movie, “White Christmas”, had music written by the immortal composer, Irving Berlin. One of these songs was “Count your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)”. The song was a huge success and following the initial release it has been re-recorded by various artists no less than eighteen times. The message is prophetic and is more true today than any time since its release over sixty-two years ago.
A part of the song goes:
When I’m worried and I can’t sleep
I count my blessings instead of sheep
And I fall asleep counting my blessings

When my bankroll is getting small
I think of when I had none at all
And I fall asleep counting my blessings
I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads
And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds
If you’re worried and you can’t sleep
Just count your blessings instead of sheep
And you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings
Today in our multi-media, hide-behind-the-computer, make-up the news world that we find ourselves enveloped in; we have a tendency to become cynical when anything goes wrong in our society. On occasion we seem to look at the gloom and doom perspective of a situation instead of looking at the good in the same situation. If you look for the bad in something expect to find, but if you look for the good then expect to find that also. At this point in time we have a lot of good available for finding.
The financial stability of our nation has never been better. Two years ago we were told to expect a Gross National Product to grow at a 1.5% rate. We could expect steady yet lethargic growth for the future. Last week it was announced that we not only have a steady 3.0 % growth but could potentially be looking at a 4.0% growth.
Unemployment levels are the lowest in decades with an economy that will continue to require more and more skilled labor. The unemployment level for both African Americans and Hispanics is at record lows signaling a society that had ignored minority unemployment in the past. Now we see this group included in our nation’s massive growth.
The world is dangerous but is less so than just several years ago. ISIS has had the fight taken to it and we are destroying it on the ground. Six months ago it appeared that we would be going to war with North Korea and thus threaten to draw in China and/or Russia into the conflict. This risk has been significantly reduced. The Venezuelan government was a staunch American hater but the government has all but collapsed and it is crumbling from within. America is standing by to help build a new country that will become a strong ally. Cuba had long been a thorn in the side of the United States and sits only 90 miles from the American coast. Today, for the first time in sixty years, American tourist are plodding the streets of Havana.
The world of entertainment is at our feet. Turn on television and have access to more channels than any individual could possibly access. Instead of going to the movies a person can simply call the movie up on a smart television and be entertained for an afternoon or if sports is your interest one can watch numerous sporting events around the world. This is a great change to the time when KNOE began broadcasting 24 hours a day in the early 1980s.
When a person gets sick the chances for survival is exponentially greater than several decades ago and if the ailment is not life threatening, the recovery time is much greater with less discomfort.
Is America perfect? Absolutely not and it never will be. Even if one group thinks life is perfect there will be other groups that feel we can do better. The important thing to remember is that we are blessed in so many ways and even though not perfect, America is so much better than the other countries that populate our planet.
If you are laying awake at night and have a problem falling to sleep, try counting your blessings. Even if you don’t fall to sleep you will still feel a little better.