To Be or Not To Be

I live in the Festival City.  The city that hosts the great Shakespearean Festival.  People come from all over to see the plays and enjoy the beauty that is Cedar City and Southern Utah.  With a title like this you might think that I am prepared to deliver some stirring commentary on Shakespeare but the reality is that I am not.  I don't know much about him and my thoughts are not along those lines.  To Be or Not To Be for me tonight is centered on gratitude.  That, I guess, is the question.  Can I find it within myself to count the blessings of my life, the blessings of each day or will I choose to ignore those blessings and acknowledge not the hand of the Lord in my life?  I am sad to report that there are times when I fail to see the blessings, when I ignore them, when I get so caught up in the struggle of daily life that I do not take the time to reflect and see and count.  The song says "When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost, count your many blessings, name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done."  I need to remember that, I need TO BE grateful even when life is hard.  I can choose NOT TO BE and in so doing will miss out on much of the beauty and splendor that is life.  To be or not to be grateful will determine whether I find joy, true and lasting joy, in this life or not.