Thankful. Appreciative. Grateful. Indebted. It’s that time of year when these buzz words become increasingly popular as people begin to reflect on what they are grateful for. Traditional answers might include such things as my family, friends, my education, etc. These are great answers but they only scratch the surface of what you should also be grateful for; something that is very easy for both you and I to overlook.

Here are some things you also might be grateful for, I know I am. This week I am grateful for having a roof over my head, and food to eat – regardless of being a college student, I have money to spend to go out for dinner or grab a cup of coffee with a friend. As I mentioned last week, I do not know what war is like nor have I ever feared for the safety of my life, both of which I am thankful of. I am thankful for the opportunity to attend college and take classes. For the fact I am not required to work full-time while going to school because I have the ability to take out a loan to cover my tuition. And how about the fact that I am able to write this article, at least somewhat articulately, and you are able to read this article? For that, I am grateful. I am thankful that I have running water to take a hot shower, and wash my dishes. I appreciate that I can criticize my government without fear of prosecution. I am grateful that I am allowed to choose what religion I wish to practice or to refrain from religion altogether.

The list goes on and on. I could fill this entire edition of the Lorian, if they would let me, with things that you and I have to be grateful for. However, they limit the words I get per issue and hopefully by now you get the picture. We all have a lot to be grateful for; in fact, we have more than we often realize worth giving thank for. I understand how easy it can be to overlook the simple things and take them from granted. Additionally, I understand how this time of the semester makes it particularly difficult to remain appreciative of everything we have in life – the often times over bearing demands of school and planning for our future. But it is important we remember how to take a step back and see all the blessings we’ve been given.

So, this Thanksgiving continue to be grateful for your family, friends, and education, but remember there is so much more to be grateful for. Be grateful for the fact that you have a roof over your head because there are millions of people that do not. Be grateful for the food on the table, even if you do not like the food because there are millions going hungry everyday around the world. And be grateful that you can read this article, so you can walk away and be appreciative for all the wonderful things and people in your life.

by Sara Pennebecker

Inspiration can come from anywhere. The inspiration for the topic of this week’s article came to me a few weeks ago while sitting in church. Before you stop reading, this is not an article about focusing on why you should go to church, or the merits of doing so, I just like providing context. Here me out.

The gospel was Matthew 20:1-16, which is one of my favorites because of its message. For those of you who are not familiar with this Bible passage, it is a parable about workers who work unequal hours and are paid the same amount at the end of the day. The ones who have worked all day complain to the owner of the vineyard because they have worked harder and longer than those who started at the end of the day, yet they were all paid the same wage. The owner replies by questioning the workers, “don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money?”

This is one of my favorites because it speaks to how we all are given breaks in life, and how we all have things we take for granted. Did you ever have a deadline extended for you on a project? Or your parents give you extra money because you were not frugal with your money and needed to pay rent for the month?

Most likely this had nothing to do with your hard work or your merits. It was attributed to the class you were in or the family you were born into. In a sense, it was luck, and you were given a break.

As I left church, I was full of thoughts. I reflected on how many advantages I have been given in my life, none of which had to do with hard work, my intellect, or my abilities.

I thought about how easy it is to overlook these advantages, these breaks that we do not even realize we get. I also thought about how easy it is to judge others from the outside, and be quick to assume that they do not deserve help or aid because they are “lazy” or “incompetent.”

How do we know that for certain? How do we know the context of the workers who show up at the end of the day? We are not provided with why they are late, or their background. Just like in life, we do not know, and unless we find out, we really have no reason to judge.

So the next time you complain about life not being fair or judge others for the so called “breaks” they are getting, first step back for a moment. Think about all the advantages and breaks you have been given in your life. Be grateful for what you have, and be happy for others when they get breaks. We all deserve them.

If life be a journey, death is supposed to be a vacation from life.

Before someone goes on a vacation, no matter how good or bad, he must look for the path where he is going. Here are some of the possibilities about death.

1. Albert Einstein once said, “Now Besso [his old friend] has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us know that the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”

2. Buddha once said, “Life is a journey and death is a return to the earth.” According to Buddhism, after death one is either reborn into another body (reincarnated) or enters nirvana. Only Buddhas — those who have attained enlightenment — will achieve the latter destination.

3. Christian beliefs about the afterlife vary between denominations and individual Christians, but the vast majority of Christians believe in heaven, where believers enjoy the presence of God and other believers in addition to freedom from suffering and sin.

4. Death and the afterlife are supposed to be the state of dreams. Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is a rich chemical compound that is secreted in the human brain during REM phases of sleep and before death. This chemical compound is supposed to take a person to a higher dimension. Many people, reported as clinically dead, have come back to life. They claim to see a deep blue light, beautiful gardens, family members and relatives who had died already.

5. Every day after we go to bed, our “energy body” is supposed to come out. This energy body is connected to our physical body with a cord. When we wake up, this chord pulls the energy body to the physical body. Before a person’s death this energy body comes out and the chord cuts off.

6. For everything with energy, there is a conservation of energy. Human beings are three dimensional beings and the universe is said to be made up of ten dimensions, which then creates lots of possibilities.

7. There are lots of probabilities about the afterlife and death, but with respect to what Robert Frost once said, “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on,” life really goes on.

With the arrival of Valentine’s Day, I’m sure that some of you were not too happy.

Gals, maybe some of you tried to ignore the day altogether, or perhaps you spent the day watching “chick flicks” and eating chocolate with your other single friends, lamenting the fact that there’s no man in your life. Guys, I have no idea what you’re thinking on that day.

Whatever your sentiments, I have news for you: Being single can be a blessing. Yes, you heard me right.

For many, it is a big goal to find a spouse, but it is not the most important thing in life. Life doesn’t begin when you meet your spouse. Life is now. If we live our single lives to the fullest, our married life (and life in general) will be so much richer. We should use this time of singleness to the fullest to explore new interests and nurture our gifts. Now is our time to find our corner of the world, how we are supposed to use our time, talents and gifts to better the world.

Who knows, maybe you’ll even find your soul mate as you go about this. Being single means that you can simply go about your day and make plans without thinking that you have to tell so-and-so or get his or her input before doing so. Thinking about going to graduate school or getting a job somewhere warmer? You don’t need to limit yourself to schools or jobs near your significant other. You are not defined by another person. You have the freedom to figure out who you really are. Sometimes it’s nice to be independent and fly solo.

Many people of college age are in serious relationships, engaged or already married. It is good to be able to have the advantage of watching other couples and relationships and seeing how they work things out. It is also good to see the problems that couples commonly encounter and need to work through. We singles have the advantage of seeing these things beforehand, and I think that we singles will have strengthened relationships down the road because of this.

There are definitely advantages to the single life and to waiting longer to meet the right person. Of course, it isn’t always easy to be single. Life sometimes seems like a waiting game. Some people have told me that it’s when they stopped looking that they finally met their spouse. maybe that means your heart is being saved for that special person you are meant to marry. I think that’s a beautiful thought.

Yes, that will be wonderful to find the person you’re meant to be with, but there is so much more to life than this. Don’t define your worth based on another person.

People who are in a (good) relationship, engaged, or married: I am so happy for you. Don’t worry, I am definitely not putting down couples. It must be wonderful to meet the right person. Until then, however, let’s remember that our lives don’t start when we meet Mr. or Mrs. Right.

Maybe we already know him or her and just don’t know that we’ll marry them. Maybe it will be another 20 years (or more) before our spouse comes into our life. Maybe you’re even called to live the single life. Let’s love life and live it to the fullest. May we be a blessing to others and, eventually, a blessing to the person who will bless our life abundantly.