Thanks Giving

Thanksgiving is a two word recipe for a joyful life.

Thanks
If we are grateful for what we have right now, we'll find contentment. And if we aren't appreciative of the miracles that surround us, we will never have enough. I've found gratitude and thanks are the basis for happiness. Without them, nothing else will compensate. 

Giving
A continuous flow of giving enables us to share our gifts and blessings as well as to receive. Deep Chopra compared it to the body's flow of blood in his book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. Giving and receiving are the same, and when we have faith to give, knowing there will always be more, receiving is the natural progression, which allows us to ultimately give even more. It is a divine cycle. 

Ideally, a gratitude list and a plan to give to others, as well as ourselves, should be ongoing and not simply reserved for one holiday a year. But for those who need to be reminded. Thanksgiving invites us to slow down and take time for gratitude and giving..

Last year at this time my brother had recently passed, Singing the Christmas carols we sang together growing up brought tears so I didn't participate in my choral groups. This year I'm participating in two groups. The passing of a year has helped me find the joy in the memories. Time truly does heal wounds. I still miss him terribly but now I can smile while remembering him. Usually.

NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month - is progressing in a way I hadn't expected. For the first time, I'm writing fiction, weaving my love of herbal symbolism and magic through out. The book is a mystery and at times it even frightens me as the words flow from the pen! Today I passed the 40,000 word mark with less than 10,000 to go to complete my goal by November 30.

As the holiday season begins, I hope each of you will make a list of blessings and share your time and talents with friends, family and those in need. Happy Thanksgiving!