Gratitude

 

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving. I’m unsure why we have such a holiday, truth be told, unless it’s a nod to evading conquest by America in the war of 1812. It certainly isn’t about winning independence from Britain, since the country was originally claimed by the French, who lost it (sort of) to England on the Plains of Abraham way back when. We weren’t even a country at that time; before and after the war, we were a colony. Confederation didn’t happed until 1867—is that when the holiday started? Or is it simply an excuse for a long weekend in October? (Insert shrug here.) Whatever the occasion, I’m always grateful for a stat holiday.

 

The past few years have taught me a lot about gratitude. After love, it’s the most powerful of the virtues. Combined with love, it can work miracles on one’s view of the world and one’s place in it. The daily gratitude list has been part of my psyche for so long now that I can’t recall which of my gurus planted it there. It began as an experiment a few years ago: every day, I wrote down things I was grateful for, including things I didn’t have but hoped to have in future. The things I already had meant more to me and the things I hoped to have … well, now I actually have some of them. Others yet elude me, but I’ve also learned that things come when and if they are meant to come, not before or not at all. Life isn’t about getting everything you want. The Rolling Stones had it right: you get what you need. The hard part—the really hard part—is being grateful when what you get sucks out loud. The disappointing stuff. The challenging stuff. The aches and pains stuff. Running life’s gauntlet is fraught with “woo hoo!” and “why me?” Appreciating the “woo hoo”s are easy, and though I struggle to do it, I make myself grateful for the “why me”s. I’m even more grateful when I get past them.

 

It is Thanskgiving, so here we go …

 

I am grateful for Ter;

I am grateful for family;

I am grateful for music;

I am grateful for art and film;

I am grateful for inspiration and creativity;

I am grateful for chiropractors and massage therapists;

I am grateful to live in Canada;

I am grateful to be richer than I think;

I am grateful for breath;

I am grateful for laughter;

I am grateful for rain;

I am grateful for abundance;

I am grateful for love;

I am grateful for life.

 

With love (and gratitude),