Happy Thanksgiving!

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.  ~Melody Beattie


In my online travels this week I ran across this quote. I am kind of a quote junkie.  As I have been pondering the Thanksgiving season this week, that first line really gnawed at me---"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life." Being the carnal species we are, we fall into the trap of taking the common things for granted. The more we are around them, the less we actually see them. They become the backdrop of our lives, exempt from our list of blessings. Just because they are common doesn't mean that they are not incredible gifts. They are just shrouded with the film of everyday life.


I remember driving home after a two and a half month stay at the Calgary hospital. When that familiar, yet picturesque mountain range came into view I was overcome. I couldn't help but weep at that stunning sight that had been mine to enjoy every day of my life previous to hospital time. It was a moment of pure, unrestrained gratitude. How could I have taken this for granted every single day! I vowed to never again look at those mountains without offering a silent prayer of thanks and summoning a genuine feeling of awe. 


This is just one example. Think of those things that are around you, a part of you, each and every day. Your healthy, happy kids, the absence of war and oppression, the good job, the caring friends, the family that lives close by, the library that is only 1 block away, the chocolate bar in your cupboard begging to be eaten, your ability to see, touch, walk, think, and express. How blessed we are! 


During this Thanksgiving week I am pledging to look for the magic and miracles in the common and every day of my life, because they are not so common to some..................


HAPPY THANKSGIVING!