Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Thanksgiving

Most of us, when the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, think of roast turkey and dressing, cranberry sauce and many other goodies that sometimes only appear on that holiday. Others think back to the beginnings of our country when a religious minority sailed to our shores to escape tyranny. They gave thanks when they arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts, and again when they survived the wilderness winter that followed.

Today, we find almost every family with someone in financial distress, or with health related problems. It is so easy to sink into despair.I've done it myself more than once. Summer is over, the winds of early winter blow and rain splatters against the windows. We hunker down, hoping for an early spring, even before winter has truly arrived. We have mosquito born viruses that arrive every year a bit further north. HIV is still a killer, and now we have H1V1, or Swine Flu. These are some of the bad things going on.

Thanksgiving, though, is about positive things in our lives. The friend or relative that beat cancer. The new baby arriving. Our health still intact. (for the most part) The love we share with those very special people in our lives. Somewhere a person we know is dying, but babies are regularly born to take our places. For every person in personal distress, there is someone else that is extending a helping hand. Please remember, that though the Sun is not shining from the sky, it is still present from within. Whether a person is happy or sad, is from within. It is a slef induced condition. Have a truly happy Thanksgiving holiday.

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