Brewed Fresh Daily

After spending the day with my loving family, I came home and took a look around the beautiful community of my friends and colleagues. Here's a short list of my fellow bloggers that make me thankful they share their thoughts and feelings with the wider world:

• Dott Schneider: "I'm thankful that... I'm surrounded by extremely talented and intelligent friends."
• Jack Ricchiuto: "[T]oday is the best holiday because it's simply about gathering, feasting, and storytelling. It's the celebration of this sacred trinity that sustains us.
• Lois Annich: "In this last year I've witnessed a number of happy, surprise endings to perplexing, even heartbreaking, situations. Thank goodness we are not in control, that our dire predictions don't always come true, and that we don't get what we deserve or expect. It really isn't over 'till it's over...."
• Sandy Piderit: "This year, I feel like my cup is overflowing. For the past week or so, I have been in a place where I have recognized the merits of slowing down, noticing the beauty around me, and allowing me to hold my sense of wonder in the center of my focus for a moment, before moving back to the unending to-do list. Will I remember how to get back to this place next week, when I go back into a grueling work schedule? Will I take the time to buy some extra food at Zagara's and drive it down to the Cleveland Food Bank? Only time will tell. At least for today, I hope to stay centered in this feeling of gratitude and wonder. Life is good, and I am profoundly grateful."

Perhaps my favorite post comes from Ed Morrison:

We had a small victory in East Cleveland this week. Some days ago, Vic Voinovich and I met with representatives of GE and Nela Park. Although they expressed concern about the long term trends in the city, their most immediate concern was far more mundane: fixing the traffic light at the end of their driveway. Yesterday, Alfred Miller sent around an e-mail to let us know that the light had been fixed. After nearly six months of GE trying to get the light fixed, it's done. The light had become a symbol of how desperate East Cleveland has become. The City is simply stressed beyond limits. Day to day functioning cannot get done. We can easily find problems and excuses. But on this day of Thanksgiving, we should set aside some time for deeper questions. What are our shared responsibilities, especially to the children of East Clevleand?

Thank goodness for small victories. By one measurement, our city was declared the most impoverished in the nation. But with friends and family like these, our spiritual wealth in priceless.