Giving Thanks

This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving. Which differs by other Thanksgiving celebrations only by date, as the concept remains the same.

What do I have to give thanks for?

Well, after a tumultuous week that involved a lot of disillusionment in the spheres of love, friendship, and professional advancement, it has been tough for me to smile and laugh as much as I usually do. And the rainy days didn't help.

Still, I have much to be thankful about.

I have a roof over my head, food in my belly, and really, it's not all bad. I don't worry about how I will survive the next day, if I'll still be alive in a month, or if my parents'll get mugged on the way home from work.

I lead a pretty good life, and as much as this past week has been trying, I cannot honestly say that I was ever in danger of not getting through it.

I am disappointed in many ways, but that's just the way the dice rolls. I truly believe that everything in life happens for a reason, and though it is sometimes tough to remember that when one door closes another opens - especially when you're in the thick of it all! - I know that with a little bit of patience, time and understanding, I'll be back to my old self in no time. I'll be more than okay. I'll be fantastic. It'll be great.

So on this weekend when we take the time to be thankful, I would like to count my blessings. Thank you for my home and my family, thank you for true friends and honesty, thank you for warmth and comfort, for the chirping birds, the shinning sun, the rustling leaves and the trees, the wind, the water, the earth and fire. Thank you for the ability to smell, touch, taste, hear and see. Thank you for the opportunities I have, the privileges I have been given, and the gifts I have received that allow me to function the way I do, to be the way I am... thank you for making me "me".

Thanks for making me laugh and smile, thank you for my health and that of those who are important to me. Thank you for the little joys in life, for giggling babies and happy brides, for mind-blowing TV shows and exciting movies, for music that moves you and books that teach as they entertain you. Thanks for my guitar and my piano because they can get me through anything and everything. Thank you for enabling me to see the positive in everything, for the sound that skates make when they cut into the ice, for cheeky monkeys and sneezing pandas, for hissing red squirrels and whispering seashells, the stars in the sky and the clouds that bring rain, new discoveries and getting over pain. Thanks for making the universe as crazily amazing as it is. Thank you for all the other things I can't name...

And most importantly, thank you for the love, hope and inspiration that's a part of my daily life. Thank you for making me see that there's a higher power out there than me. Thank you for hugging me when I need to be comforted, even if it's just by the wind or only in my imagination.

While so many other people in the world suffer, thank you for giving me everything I'll ever need. On this day, and every day, through the good times and the bad, may I always remember how fortunate I truly am.

(And thank you to those who always take the time to read!)