Thanksgiving

I like Thanksgiving.  I am more aware now than ever before of just how much I have to be thankful for.  The fact that we, as a society, (in the Western world at least, but it is catching on) have set aside a special day to do just that gives me a glimmer of hope that maybe we won't eventually blow ourselves up or simply destroy the planet so that it can no longer sustain us. It is just a glimmer, but it is hope. However, I digress.
I have come to appreciate so many things that I had previously taken for granted.  So many, in fact, that I couldn't even begin to list them all here, but I would like to touch on a few.

The sound and sight of children playing.  Laughing and exploring, finding sticks to burn (and play with) in the fire. It's spectacular! I love it! Everything is new to them! Their innocence is invigorating (and often comical) to observe.  To see the joy on their faces when they discover something for the first time, like the fact that you can write letters in the air with the smoke from a smoldering stick if you make the motions at just the right speed, and then watch them disappear into the air as you draw your next one to spell a word. (usually peoples names)  That genuine happiness that they are feeling in those moments is so...heart warming. It reminds me that life such is a precious gift.  There are so many things in life that can bring us joy, even when we are "down", if we could just stop to look at them, as if for the first time.

The stars.  I was in Haliburton this weekend. The night sky away from the light pollution of a city is brilliant with stars. The stars I grew up staring at for hours at a time because I was dazzled by them. I don't see them nearly enough anymore (well, sometimes Tuesdays) and being exposed to them for two nights in a row has made me...remember.  Remember that innocent feeling of discovery that I felt back then.  It's a good feeling.

My Family. Family is a powerful thing, especially if you have a good Family. A Family that loves and cares about each other unconditionally, without judgement or malice.  They all live their lives, their lifestyles, with different ideas and belief systems but when they are together they are...Family.  Nothing else matters.  I have a good Family.

All of that is tied together by one thing, something that I touched upon recently in a previous post; love.  I am most thankful for that. It is, as I said, the most precious gift that we can get, and I am thankful to be the recipient of so much of it, from  friends and Family alike.
For that, I say... Thank you.