In the process of de-cluttering/making space/re-organizing my office, I found this boldly typed message that I commanded of myself a few years ago. I promptly tacked it on top of a favorite picture of mine, a blowup of a friend’s great photo of fireworks against the night sky. That image holds a special place on my office wall because it so clearly represents my motto to Live Life Vibrant. But back to re-thinking.

As I began meditating on Gratitude, as we are reminded to do when Thanksgiving approaches, I realized that sometimes it requires a change of thinking. It’s akin to walking through a cloud of resistance in order to re-frame our thoughts and create the life we often profess but more than often fall short of. The resistance appears almost as a temptation to revert to the comfortable old ways of viewing life. Oh dear, why is this happening to me? It isn’t fair! Someone else’s life is so much better than mine. It’s just too hard!, etc. It’s so easy to let this what I call old-school thinking divert our attention, even in the smallest ways.

Here’s an example. The corner where I live features busy traffic patterns and is in the process of being adorned with a traffic light. This has required huge metal poles lying in our front yard, men in lime green vests, trucks and all manner of construction equipment for days and even weeks. Although I’m glad that the end result will be a traffic light, I’ve been resisting the process of getting it installed. I’ve found myself slightly annoyed at the noise and commotion. Then last night when I saw those men working late under big lights to finish a certain part of the project before the oncoming snowstorm, I realized my thoughts had not been helpful to me or to those hard-hats. These are men with lives and probably families and have been working hard to accomplish their task. They are most likely unaware of my thoughts, but I could have been more supportive. The creative doors in my life would have opened a little further.

And all this to illustrate that Gratitude is not just for friends, family and the good things in life. If that attitude can be applied to everything that comes our way, then we are participating in receiving and giving from a much larger perspective. We are walking through the resistance and Re-thinking Everything.

May I be granted the grace to remember this lesson every day and not just on Thanksgiving. And may I say I am grateful to you for reading and participating in Winks & Wisdom!