Being Grateful and serving others

In America so many of us are blessed with abundance. Even much of the poor by comparison are not living at a standard that would compare to the dispair in other countries of the world. I am reading Three Cups of Tea which is the story of how one person can make a difference. Greg Mortenson, after a failed attempt at K2 in Pakistan, ends up in a village where they nurse him back to health. The people in the village lead very simple lives farming the land but they have no school so they and there children cannot read. Greg works to raise funds and ultimately build a school for them in their village, Korphe. These are people who are incredibly grateful for everything they have and everything that they receive. We are often not grateful for anythng we have and it never seems to be enough. I am curious as to why people with so little in material possessions can be so grateful and we who have so much can think that its never enough. How have we allowed ourselves to evolve to this level of dissatisfaction. I want so much to feel the sense of appreciation and gratefulness that these simple people have. I want to serve other people in a way that I have never done in my life. It must be much more fulfilling to serve others than to serve one's self and the insatiable need for more.

Below is a link to a blog from an Iraqi living in New York. The site has links to numerous Iraqi blogs. We really need to figure out how to help these people in additional ways to the armed conflict. They need our help. There is a link to a youtube video about refugees in Jordan. There are over 800,000 Iraqi refugees now in Jordan. The entire country's population is just over 5 Million before the refugee influx. That is a tremendous surge in population for a tiny country such as Jordan. They need our help.

http://healingiraq.blogspot.com

American History

This week we traveled to Philadelphia and Washington, DC to tour some of America's history with the kids. We saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Betsy Rosses House, the foundation of Washington's House, The Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights, National Cathedral, WWII, Korean, Vietnam, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. I was surprised by how moved I was at the National Archives viewing what are referred to as the "Charters of Freedom". It is truly amazing what these men did at the founding of our country and how enduring these charters have been. Most countries around the world would not have survived the uncertainty of the close count in the 2000 presidential election. When Washington passed on the power of the Presidency to Adams at the end of his terms in a peaceful and orderly fashion he set in motion the foundation of one of the many things that makes our country so great.

Sadly, so many people in America today take our freedom for granted. We don't truly appreciate the sacrifices that those before us have made in order to protect and preserve our freeedom. Especially the very freedom of speech that is used from time to time to tear them down or speak ill of our institutions of Congress, the Presidency and the Courts. We aren't perfect but we are free. Very few people of world enjoy the freedoms that we take for granted here in America.

http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/declaration_zoom_1.html

On the wall of the Korean War Memorial it says, "Freedom is not Free". We should never forget this.

More hope

There was another article in the paper today about more promising progress on Parkinson's through gene therapy. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=74929

I know that they are going to find a cure very soon. I just know it.

Hope

Today my husband sent me an article about the possible use of a blood pressure medication to arrest the progress of Parkinson's Disease. This would be the most amazing thing. The internet is really amazing in the ease with which a person can access information that might be helpful. John has several friends who must have RSS feeds or some other method for keeping up with things about Parkinson's Disease and they periodically send updates about new medicines and things that are being tried that might lead to a cure. I just wonder if we used the internet better for scientists AND the common man/woman if we couldn't find cures faster. People notice things that a doctor or scientist might not normally notice - clues that might lead them down the right path. If there were some sort of Wiki where people could share thoughts and ideas or things that they've noticed. Who knows what it could lead to. I think this idea has promise but I am not really sure how to get it started. If you have any ideas. Please share. In the meantime, I am excited by this new drug prospect. I know that a cure will be found in time to help my husband. I know it.