giving thanks

It's good we have the official holiday of Thanksgiving at least once a year because aside from the gluttony aspect, the media turns to the subject of family and gratitude - however fleeting! I heard a little essay on gratitude this morning that said scientists discovered that gratitude is actually a component in health. Duh!

Who has never stopped to contemplate that if I don't feel like a powder keg ready to detonate that my body functions better?! Really, we needed scientists?

And as for family - if this is the ONE time that people turn homeward that is indeed sad, but apparently that is the case for many people. Why should we need a calendar to tend to the most primal needs of the heart?

I know for many people it is a chore to be with family, so I guess that's why each morning upon awakening as I look at a collage of my family hanging on the wall beside my bed, my day begins with a smile of thanks.

Paris

Its hard to think about the people in Paris who dressed for a concert, or for dinner, and didn't know they were dressing for the hereafter.

The world we live in so woven with horror makes it all the more important to savor each step because the ground on which we walk seems fragile.

Someone posted a quote from Mr. Rogers on Facebook this morning, "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.

I'm holding that thought close.