Counting My Blessings

In my life, I’ve spent too much time wondering what I could have said or should have said or what I did that I shouldn’t have done or what I didn’t do that I should have done. I’ve lived in the past of regrets and not celebrated everything in my life that brings me light and joy. In spite of the nature of humans to focus on what’s wrong with us and our lives, I’ve found myself, now, thinking about everything that I am thankful for.

If I consider me, there are many things I could focus on which some might feel are detriments.  And I know that I’ve done that.  And here’s what I know about myself that I absolutely know are blessings to be thankful for and to celebrate:

• my intelligence
• my love of language
• my love of music
• my sense of humour and ability to see the absurd in things
• my loyalty to those I love – it’s not blind loyalty and it is loyalty
• my sense of wonder about the things around me
• my enjoyment of the beauty of nature
• my curiosity about how things work
• my immense presence.

Then there are the people in my life for whom I am truly thankful:

• my oldest sister and her husband who are both warm and giving people
• other members of my family, both here and passed away, from whom I have learned so much about myself and who I choose to be in the world
• my best friend who has been part of my life since I was four
• the other friends who are now in my life and whose presence adds so much joy and flavour to my days
• those who have been friends in my life and who are now not actively a part of it – even though they are not in my life, they’ve touched me and had a profound impact on who I know myself to be.

And I’ve been blessed with having had a career which still, even though I’ve retired from active involvement in it, adds to my life and my world and has given me the privilege of having an impact on the future. To know that what I chose to do with my life has given me opportunities to explore and enjoy all those things which I have felt blessed with is simply wonderful.

Not long ago, I wrote that I am choosing to stop the insanity in my world – choosing to not do the same thing over and over all the while expecting a different result. And that means that I am choosing not to live in the past and try to make amends for those things which are past. I am choosing to celebrate the present and enjoy and give thanks for everything in my life – my blessings.

And so my advice to others is: Try it. You’ll like it. And you will most likely, like me, find yourself smiling a lot and laughing so much more.

What a wonderful way to choose to live life.