The blessings of quiet...of sleeping children...warm covers...food in the fridge
and a roof over the head. A blanket of
calm over the house. Family, health, and
friends. It's early on a Sunday morning
so I can think. I have some control over
these moments in time. I can be me...not
mom, wife, sister, friend. Me. It is a
time of gratitude, a few hours of peace.
A few moments to count my blessings.
Good to do? Well yes, it is the
time of year when we all try to be thankful.
It's kind of expected isn't it?
But for those of us that have finally figured out that life
happens...despite our attempts at any control...taking time to express
gratitude every day is a key to our survival.
Our happiness. No matter how
challenging the events throughout the days are.
There are no circumstances so awful that an "attitude of
gratitude," even when we are in the throes of depression and hope seems
elusive, cannot bring happiness to the darkest of times. All year.
It's a researched fact.

Author and researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky has found that happiness is determined by
three things--a natural disposition that is innate to you (50%); life
circumstances (10%); and intentional activity (40%). Ahhhh...intentional activity! That means we have some control over our
happiness! She goes on to say--"Although it may be challenging to
celebrate your blessings at moments when they seem least apparent to you, it
may be the most important thing that you can do." My family and I have learned this through
the years. We don't always do it. We whine and we grumble. We bicker and we are moody. We are a family in all senses of the
word! But having spent Thanksgiving last
year in the hospital with Benjamin...and knowing that life is so
precarious, it is such a gift to be in
our home this Thanksgiving...to all be together, to have health and security at
this moment in time...It is a unique moment that needs to be savored and
treasured. I will spend this week being
intensely grateful for what is now, and try not to worry about the
future.

If your now is dark and the present and future seem futile, know that other Anchor Center
parents and families have been there, are there. As an Anchor Center parent I knew the depths
of despair, when Benjamin was young and life kept challenging him. Challenging us. Working at Anchor Center I have seen the wide
range of challenges facing our families....challenges being too mild a word. Those dark times can seem hopeless. But our spirits have a capacity for enduring
despair and celebrating joy that we don't realize. Until we are there. In those moments.

Ask for help. Keep a journal of gratitude. Cry.
Laugh. Take a walk. Believe in the future.

Surround yourself with positive people, build support.
Explore gratefulness.org to read about "The Art of Happiness" and to
improve your intentional activities toward your happiness. It takes practice to see hope and happiness,
when loss seems so overwhelming. But we
have one life to live. Let gratitude and
happiness be part of your Thanksgiving this year. Let it be part of your life, all year, every
day. Make that choice. Make that effort. And have a calm and peaceful holiday
season.

----fall, 2011