Happy Day

Thanksgiving.

What a great name for today!! I am so grateful for the country I live in - for the freedoms I am able to enjoy - and for the security, comfort, and protection offered and available to the those in need. I love that we have a holiday named such, and that it reminds us of such a basic and peace-giving principle. Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to be unhappy when you are truly thankful for a number of things in your life? I remember being awed by the 'magic' in finding things to be sincerely grateful about a person or situation, and feeling my anger/irritation/frustration/etc melt away.

Thanksgiving, as a decision and act, is magical. If you want to enrich your heart and mind, improve the quality of your life, and find more beauty and joy each day, incorporate it daily.

My 'Thankful For' list for the year is bursting to get out, so here it is!!

Sacrifices made (or in the making!!).

First and foremost, for the sacrificing Atonement made by Jesus Christ, and for the sacrifice of our Father in Heaven for allowing His Son to perform this act. Because of His love, His pain, and His suffering, I am able to be forgiven. I am immensely grateful for such a selfless gift and sacrifice, and for the power and mercy which is extended into my life, and everyone else's.

Also, I taught the lesson in church last Sunday, and was overwhelmed with gratitude so tangible it felt almost like it could be sculpted like clay. It was a lesson on the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith. His life was fraught with opposition and trial and downright evil intentions & actions by his enemies, and yet was still filled with so much sweetness and enlightenment and joy and peace. Because of his life, his choices, his courage, and his unwillingness to ever deny what and Who he saw; because of his continued perserverance and faith in God and his willingness to DO what God asked of him, I have my today. And it's due to 'Because of...'

And the continued faith and sacrifices and efforts of the succeeding leaders, as well and the enormous faith, sacrifice, courage. and endurance of all the early Saints in making the 1300-mile journey to find their yet un-built, never-seen-before Zion.

It's daunting everytime I read through facts on the Pioneer Trail. Even more daunting (and amazing) to me is that I realize that every person involved had their own story, their own tragedies and suffering, their own conviction. their own smile, their own joys, and their own redemption.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_Trail

Not to mention that I recognize this is only one area of faith and sacrifice so courageously exercised in order for our nation to be what and where it is today. To the many, many soldiers, the explorers, the political leaders, the scientists, the inventors, the general public uniting for causes, the writers, the entrepreneurs, the religious leaders and groups...I thank you all, across the years and globe, for allowing me the chance to have my today.

Acts of Kindness
One of my favorite quotes EVER is the following by Henry James:

Three things in human life are important.

The first is to be kind.

The second is to be kind.

The third is to be kind .

Kindness has changed my life. It has changed my heart. It has strengthened me and has saved me from the decaying grasp of discouragement, depression, and self-doubt. (It still does!) It has restored hope, given new life and light, and gently picked me up from the floor where I lay bleeding and broken. It has been my support as I hobbled along until I healed. And it is reciprocal in its effects.

This article is overly scientific for my taste, but it made me smile just to know that someone, somewhere, decided to factualize the process:

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1820947

Understanding replacing Advice

There are times when a person simply needs to be understood and heard. No advice needs to be given. No proposed solutions, no opinions of how or why things are, no ideologies of what is missing, or what needs to happen next. Just simple, from-the-heart, listening with the desire to better understand a person. It can be an unimaginably healing act to offer.

People

I'm so grateful that I'm not alone in this world! Every person, regardless of their personality and character traits, allows me a chance to exercise who and what I am. Without people, my growth would be stunted. And I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity for my character traits to grow - to be someone a little bit changed each day.

Outside

Specifically nature-outside. But I am also grateful for outside, but still in the city, and for outside but in the rural world. Fresh air, breezes and winds, trees, grass, rocks, dirt, lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans, mountains and hills and canyons and forests . . . I prefer it without civilization, but I certainly can't discredit the effect that parks and landscaping and surrounding landscapes have on my heart every day. They remind me that I can just BE. And that is heavenly for me.

Faith

It makes things possible . . . not easy. And it is a fuel. A fuel, a foundation, and a strength.

Family

And by family, I mean my friends too. My heart has followed the Polynesian 'Ohana' definition of family, long before I ever knew that such a word and definition/implementation existed.

If you don't know the differences between 'family' and 'ohana' check it out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohana

I am thankful for each of you. You mean more to me than I can express, and more than I'm sure you will ever, ever know. You become my heart and my lifeline in various ways, each day, and I thank you each for being who and what you are, and for the choices you make daily to be you.

My body

Seriously. It's miraculous the way it operates every second, every minute, every day . . . the way it renews and heals itself. That it can be so fragile, and yet so resilient. My senses, my fine & gross motor skills, my voluntary and involuntary muscles, my lungs, my brain. And cardiac muscle - how cool is this?!:

Your heart is made of cardiac muscle. This type of muscle only exists in your heart. Unlike other types of muscle, cardiac muscle never gets tired. It works automatically and constantly without ever pausing to rest.

It's one of the MANY incredibly cool things about the way our human body is configured!!!

And to wrap up, I'm grateful for TODAY. It's a thing of power and potential and energy and excitement. I can cause a ripple, right now. I don't have to wait for the chance to be. I don't have to fret about what's been done and can't be changed. Today. It's full of opportunities. And that is beautiful and enticing. Make your today a beautiful one.

And enjoy the fact that many wonderful things can happen to the world around you, resulting from a 'Because of . . ." in your life!