Favours that you deny...

 And so the wintry whiteness is upon us, and for some reason or the other, I totally love it.
This seems to surprise people.......I guess how and why would this female from Africa be enjoying this bitter cold when instead it should be one  heck of an alien feeling and hence uncomfortable??
All I keep hearing is, "But you're from Africa!".......
The thought that runs through my head is, "And so???".
As I said, it's only a matter of perception.

You see, ever since the holiday of Thanksgiving, I've been having constant checks on myself.
People can go on and on (as they did on the day, and I suspect they shall do in the years to come as well on the day) about the origins of the holiday and how we should all shun it.......Instead of thinking about the real significance of being grateful for all you have.
I for one think it's an absolutely brilliant idea that a country can have a national holiday to give thanks to God.
I absolutely love the idea, and being a follower of the Islamic faith, I think it is very much congruent with my own belief system. Even though in Islam we are reminded to be grateful for God's blessings each and everyday, I still think its a wonderful idea to bring families together at least once a year, force us all to endure each other and be grateful to have one another, regardless of previous petty squabbles along the way:-)

Plus I have a really good friend who does a weekly list of things she is grateful for every Thursday.
She has been an inspiration.

So, when the temperatures outside have plummeted well below Zero Celsius....I can only be grateful.

Migraines that I get from the heat, no longer exist. I am pain-free all day everyday. Thanks to God. Yipppeeee!
I try to dress modestly as is the requirement of my faith...all year round...and so in winter for once, I'm not sticking out like a sore thumb amongst others as I'm all covered up, compared to other times of the year. So i don't have to endure questions like "Aren't you feeling hot in that??".
Nor do I have to be subjected to viewing all forms, shapes and manners of unsightly human body parts that I don't want to look at, and that are on display in other warmer times of the year!...
Moreover, as people struggle to bundle up and dress in layers, I am already more than proficient in it:-) So no problems there for me.

As I watch my next door neighbour trudge through the snow in the cold, fighting to keep her hair from going off with the wind and trying to get a grasp on her shawl as she rushes to catch the bus to work, I can only be ever so grateful that I can play in the white stuff from above, and then jump into my warm car and get to where I need to be safely.

As I think of people who are homeless, I am sooooooooooooooooo freaking grateful that I have a roof over my heat, heating in my home, a hot shower each day, food to cook and enjoy, and a comfortable warm bed to lie in at the end of the day.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have heard sighs and whispers of people expressing their loneliness, and don't I just feel so blessed to have a life partner with me to enjoy the moments, the good and the bad, I am not alone. Do we appreciate our companions enough??

I am overjoyed to be in a country where I can move about freely....practice my faith freely (despite what people may think otherwise)...where I can express my thoughts, where my voice can be heard by somebody....Where despite where I've come from, I have actually been received with open arms and made to feel at home.........
And despite the seas, deserts and forests between me and my family and friends, we have the gift of technology to allow us to be in touch everyday, several times of the day.

So, what's not to love about winter???:-)
There is a chapter in the Quran.....which is my absolute favourite.....where it outlines the beauty of the earth, and all its bounties that God has put in for us to enjoy, and asks mankind, which of these favours of God can we deny??

As I say, it's all a matter of perception.
Once you develop an attitude of being grateful....Of giving thanks....Of appreciation.........Then the possibilities become endless everyday.
And overall, I think one becomes a nicer person.:-)
So instead of sitting at my window, looking outside despondently and complaining about the bitter cold, dreaming of the sun, and thinking that all life's problems will become easier with a change in weather...
All I can do is have a smile on my heart, serenade my husband in the snow, and enjoy the magnificence of God's work all around me...
For which of my Lord's favours can I truly.......TRULY.....deny?????