Count our Blessings

One of the biggest headline of the day, which also brought down the stock market index is the warning from the semiconductor bellwether, Intel Corporation. For those of us who follow the market recently, we may know that Intel had already lowered its earning prediction a couple months back, but this time they actually claim that they may miss the lowered prediction. No wonder the stock market tanked. The fact that Alcoa announced that it will lay off 15,000 workers does not help the market either. One of the only bright side of the day is the sinister joke I read from a member of the MarketWatch forum (I forgot his/her user name, since I could not find the comment anymore... But the credit still belongs to the person)

The person wrote an interesting "How to" (in a sinister mode):
(Please note: This wording being conveyed here is my own paraphrase - or in my own language - and may not be exactly as the person wrote them originally)
"How do I get $1 million from the stock market? Easy, I put $2 million in the market months ago and now I get $1 million from the market."

Well, if I am not mistaken the real intention of what the person wanting to convey, I believe this statement is a sinister joke about how much money people lose from this volatile market. But then again, we should go back to reality. Yes, it's true that many people people lost thousands of dollar from the stock market, but many of these people who lost money still have a lot money saved elsewhere (either in CDs, bonds, etc.), can you imagine how hard it is for those who actually lost everything that they have (home, savings etc.) because of their unwise choices which may not be as evident as the stock market (like those who bet on the housing market etc.)?

Yes, some of us may have felt that the heaven may have fallen upon us (something that's feared the most by the ancient Gauls), but even amidst all the uncertainties surrounding us, maybe we can still find a silver lining behind every storm. Talking about my own experience, I felt that I am poorer than ever these days, but still somehow I could manage to find something to thank for. So I am sure you also could do the same...

I remember the old song I heard from the church, "Count your blessings, name them one by one..."
Yes, even though I may only have one thing to thank for today, I am still thankful for it. And the more I count, the more I realize that there are plenty of things to thank for...