Merry Meet my friends. Hope you all are enjoying your Autumn…late Autumn now. I know for so many it’s your favorite time of year..mine too! Here in Ohio, all the glorious color is gone now…just stark trees. But the skies have been blue, the weather mild and it’s been a wonderful Season!
I have been a very busy woman! Packing up a large houseful of stuff…preparing to move to a smaller home has been challenging….but gratifying! I LOVE letting go of the overabundance of stuff that a larger home can hold..and that accumulates over time. It feels good to unburden myself of china rarely used, too many sets of wine glasses, books never to be read again, clothes outgrown or unliked and not worn, home decorations that no longer cause a smile etc. It’s freeing!! I recommend it to everyone! I am going to have one huge garage sale this Spring at my new home! 🙂
Packing has become a bit more of a problem however because I took a bad tumble down our stairs and messed up my knee and tailbone pretty badly. I’ve been in discomfort and crutches and very little mobility for 10 days now and I’m frustrated that there is no improvement. The injury couldn’t have been at a worse time too! I am finally having an MRI on monday and ortho doc will be able to tell me what’s wrong on tuesday..so we will go from there. I’m doing my best to not get panicky about all there is still to do and me not being able to do it like I would have been.
I’m coping however the best I can with my faith in my Goddess and the calming influence of my family and friends who are helping me when they can and assuring me all will be well. My hubby has been a trooper too! This all brings me to the purpose of my post today. Thanksgiving….not the day but the attitude of it.
Those who know me on facebook, in my everyday life, and read my blog know I’ve had a rough year this year. Between my brain surgery in March and that recovery, the problems my daughter Sara has had, and now this..well it’s been challenging to say the least. To stay positive and upbeat and not sink into a depressive state has been hard..but not impossible..as I’ve done it fairly well. Most days! Something I learned a long time ago…when a car accident changed our lives forever…is that we get out of Life what we put into it. We can pull up our bootstraps…make the most of it..and move on. Or we can wallow in self-pity and live a dismal, sad Life. As a family we have always chosen a good Life..a joyful Life..a glass is half-full, find the silver lining Life. We can’t fathom any other way of living.
I see it over and over too from others who I admire and love. I see so many of my facebook friends who live with daily pain, have injuries or losses or financial troubles, and yet, they keep on posting positive things, aid others when they need it, offer prayers for others, leave a hug or a heart on someone’s page…I find it heartwarming and gratifying and I try to do the same thing too. I see the opposite too..on facebook and in my everyday Life..those who never can see the good thru the bad, can’t find empathy for others thru their own pain, or think the world just sucks and Life has treated them unkind and unfair. It’s knowing people like that in my Life that made me want to be sure that I don’t ever go there!!
I have kept a journal for about 15 years now..pretty faithfully. I first learned of the importance of having gratitude from a book I read..many of you probably read it too. Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach. It changed my Life. Even though I always had a positive attitude in Life, I started journaling things I was grateful for each day. I don’t care how bad of a day I was having, I found something..or a few somethings..to be grateful for. I wrote them down in my journal. Sometimes I had to REALLY think about what had happened that day I could have thankfulness for..and soon…I realized that there was always something..no matter how small..that I could write in my journal. It taught me not to just be a positive person, but to have an Attitude of Gratitude always. To be Thankful to what Life and the Goddess gave me every day. The small, simple things.
So on this Thanksgiving, while you are enjoying time with family and friends, take some time between bites 🙂 to be grateful for the good things in your Life. This will be a very different Thanksgiving for me this year. I am the oldest daughter of 4 children and I have held all the holidays at my home for many years now. This year, half the family is on a cruise together, and half are visiting with relatives on the other side of the family this year. So, it is just Sara, hubby Jim and I this year. My thankfulness? With being laid up and my house a mess from moving, I can throw a turkey breast in the oven, rest my leg, read, crochet, watch the Macy’s day parade and take a day off by the fire, from packing and even thinking about packing, for one day 🙂 Now that is a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!
While I’m on the subject, I want to thank my readers..well, for reading my blog 🙂 I appreciate it so much and love getting to know many of you thru facebook etc..who have become my friends. Thank YOU!! I wish all of you a Blessed Thanksgiving..to you and yours! Make it Merry…and filled with gratefulness!
Blessings and Love, Autumn
My Moonlit Path..... 