Bill Bryson wrote that you should never be unhappy for 3 reasons: You were born (a miracle of odds in itself), you are alive – it is a ‘miraculous privilege’ and you have plenty to eat at a time when there is no threat of a world war.

Reading the paper this weekend, I was reminded of just how fortunate we are in North America and the developed world. If ever you have a need to put into perspective a financial problem, or that the light turned red too fast or you have too many meetings today, just read any one of the following articles. For me, it made me reflect on just how fortunate I am:

• Iraq, the war logs. One day, 146 deaths. It is desperate.
• Somali schoolboy tells of how Islamists cut off his leg and hand. In the name of ‘God’ no less. The purest of evil.
• Somalia, Myanmar and Afghanistan rated most corrupt countries: report. And so, the cycle continues. These countries have no hope of pulling themselves out of their terrible condition until a real leader emerges to quash corruption.

Very thankful.