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November
20, 2006
Being
Grateful
It’s
astounding to me that an entire year has passed since
November 2005! Last year at this time I was in Buenos Aires
where summer was just around the corner (very strange) and
no one cared about some American holiday called
Thanksgiving.
I
searched in vain for the makings of a real
Thanksgiving meal and had to settle for substitutes i.e. the
sweet potatoes were white (at least I think they were sweet
potatoes) and there was no turkey, but at least I had thought
to tuck a cornbread mix in my suitcase to make my infamous
Southern Cornbread Dressing. We ate in the heat of the looming summer
as my Argentine friend tried to understand and
appreciate our holiday and the peculiar food but just couldn’t
quite get it.
So much
has happened in my life since that day. It’s been a year
filled with the highest highs and the lowest lows I could
have imagined. The roller coaster ride has been extreme and
the opportunities to give up or to grow and learn have been
just as extreme. I admit there were times when the
lows were so low that I felt there was no coming
back, but I'm certain of this - it’s never the circumstances of our life that
determine our future but the choices we make in how to
respond to those circumstances that will determine our
destiny. However, it’s one thing to know
that intellectually and it’s another to live it.
I’m
deeply grateful this Thanksgiving for the people in my life
who have been there when I needed them most and who have
helped me live the choices that have brought me back happier,
stronger, and more loving than ever. I’m eternally grateful
to have had the opportunity to realize the depth of love and
support I am blessed with in my family and friends. I am
grateful to be home in the United States where we
have a deeply ingrained culture of hope, possibility, and
optimism even if we don’t always recognize it. I’m
profoundly grateful to work in a
profession that is dedicated to helping people live happier,
more fulfilled, and rewarding lives – a profession in which I
am able to support people in reaching their goals, living
their dreams, and making this world a better place through
their presence in it.
From my
heart to yours, I wish you a Thanksgiving filled with
grateful and loving thoughts. Regardless of where you are
on the rollercoaster of life, I hope you take time to feel
and reflect on all of the bounty that is within you and
around you. HAPPY THANKSGIVING to ALL OF YOU
including those
of you who don’t quite understand this American holiday!
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