there but for the grace of god...

I am so lucky, so fortunate, so blessed. I'm reminded of this today because two of my real life friends are going through hard times financially.

Everyone makes bad choices here and there. I've certainly made a few in my life. It's not because of any great master plan that I'm in the position I'm in today. I am in no way "better" than these friends; I'm not smarter, or thriftier, or a better money manager. A few hard knocks and I could be facing the same horrible choices, looking down the same black tunnel.

So I'm making this post as a sort of prayer to the universe: I don't say it often enough, but thank you. Thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way, and there have been many. Thank you to whatever higher power there may be that has steered me away from disaster in the past. Thank you for those few terrifying moments when I teetered on the brink, but was able to pull myself back. Thank you for my husband, who -- though he drives me absolutely batshite with it sometimes -- has a definite plan for our financial future.

Out here in the Land of Fruits and Nuts(TM), it is all too easy to slip into that mindset that nothing is ever enough. We are constantly bombarded by it, day in and day out. In the scant two years I have been living here, I have noticed myself becoming more materialistic, more focused on money and wealth, more distracted by labels and brands. I see it too in my husband, born and raised in a small town, who suddenly wants to have the fastest car, the nicest house, the best job. There is nothing wrong with wanting those things on the surface, but I fear they are symptoms of a greater disease.

"It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got."

Today I'm also saying a little prayer that my friends will be able to come out on top. They are both smart women, and I'm certain they will be able to persevere -- but a little karmic push doesn't hurt anything!

Send your thoughts, prayers, good vibes, and karma to my friends today. Whatever you believe in, send a little of that mojo in their direction today, and then say thank you for what you've got.

Couldn't hurt.