Counting Blessings

We are now only one week away from the official holiday where we take the time to pause and give thanks for the many blessings we have in our lives.  So it seems appropriate to spend a few moments in introspection about the things that have the most meaning and make our lives the richest.  By acknowledging the many blessing we have we find that we relegate them to a higher place and meaning and don't run the risk of taking what we are given for granted.

In my life I am most grateful for the loving relationships that support me and carry me through all my life experiences.  Those special family and friend relationships that bring joy and contentment through our interactions with each other.  I am immensely grateful that in our family we have through all the trials managed to somehow stay together, connected by bonds of caring and compassion.  Bonds that have been tested and tried, but never broken even under the most difficult of circumstances - and I am deeply grateful that we remain together.

My life, like yours, is not always filled with sweetness and light but even in the darkest of times there are things to be grateful for if we but change our perspective and seek them.  Every day we are gifted with our very life and the strength to live it, lessons to learn, work to accomplish, relationships to build, food to eat, shelter over our heads, sunlight and all the bounty of nature right outside our door.  Each moment we can be grateful for the joy of living - and if on any day you cannot find reason to give thanks, you can rest assured that the fault lies within yourself.

It would be the very wisest choice to not just pause one day a year to count our blessings, but to develop an attitude of living daily in gratitude.  As life unfolds, to be able to give thanks for everything that happens to us, knowing that every experience, every circumstance are our teachers.  Every step that we make forward is a step that moves us toward achieving something bigger and better than the current situation.  Life is always moving us forward, and even though at times we may not be aware of it, it is giving us opportunities to become our best selves.  So to be able to embrace all of life's experiences with deep gratitude is best approach and brings graceful acceptance into our journey.

At my house this next week will be filled with the aromas of the holiday dinner cooking, preparations for the family gathering.  These are things that bring me joy and I am grateful that I am still able to do these things that are for me expressions of the heart.  We will likely eat too much, share the most recent family updates and play games together.  We will laugh, hug and share precious time together - I am grateful for these days of family gathering.

Whatever this time of year brings to you, do take the time to count your many blessings - you may find that you are rich beyond measure.  I know I am.

In peace...............Margie