Being Thankful

Some friends and I are doing a twenty-eight day being thankful process through The Magic by Rhonda Byrne.  Everyday, we are given some thing to do that will enhance our mode of being thankful.  The reasoning is that if it is hammered into us for four straight weeks, SOMETHING will have to stick and we will be happy campers for the rest of our lives.

Well, truth is, I've done this last year and it helped me immensely.  It became an ingrained system of being thankful for every situation that I encounter.  But over time the toy of gratefulness was not as shiny and pretty as it was when I first unwrapped it. So we are re-opening the gift of her book and doing it again.

It can be a creative challenge to figure out how to be thankful for EVERYTHING that comes my way. For instance: this weekend I came home overly tired and when my sons started arguing about who was going to take the dog for a  potty break, I yelled at them.  How do I be thankful for that?  Well, the look of shock on their faces at my raised voice told me that they were not accustomed to being screamed at. So, okay, I am not a total failure as a mother, just an occasional one.  And one who can say I'm sorry a few minutes later, so I am doing okay as a person, too.

 When I have to clean up dog poop? I'm thankful for having a wonderful Australian Shepherd.

When the car almost over-heated? I'm thankful for a mechanic neighbor who came to look at it and found it was a cheap and simple repair job.

When I have to wait another year for the next series of 'Sherlock Holmes'? I can be thankful that the darned show exists--there is something about those quirky characters that makes me love that show.

When I realize that my movie star crush, Alan Rickman, and I will probably never meet in this life-time? I can be thankful for all the movies I can watch him in (thank you Jane Austen for Sense and Sensibility).

As an author, being thankful in this time period is easy breezy lemon squeezy.  There is a plethora of opportunity in the self-publishing kingdom.  And social media is everywhere for promoting.  Thank you, thank you, thank you for Kindle Publishing and CreateSpace.  Next I'll be trying out the soon-to-be-opening Nokbok, like a library for on-line readers. Oh, and Goodreads, can't forget them.

We all have mucho to be grateful for. And if you are finding it too difficult to be thankful for a challenge in your life, appreciate that 'this too shall pass'.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading this blog!

Heather Leigh