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Writer's pictureKaren Astromsky

How do I Count Them?


As I sit at my desk, this sunny and warm day before Thanksgiving, I cannot help but recall a similar sunny and warm day before Thanksgiving--twenty years ago. It was on that day that my baby, Natalie, was diagnosed (out of the blue) with AML. It was the shock of my life, following the shock of her open heart surgery only six weeks beforehand.


When I think of all the life I have lived in twenty years, I am honestly amazed and grateful. My life and Natalie's could have turned out so drastically different which is why when people ask me what am I most grateful for at Thanksgiving--I can quickly say my health and that of my family, because I was told in no uncertain terms that health is NOT something that you can count on.


Feeling what you are grateful for is a little more complex. Feeling it in your heart. When you feel what brings us happiness, joy, gratitude, contentment--you experience it on a much deeper level, and you treasure it more. It's easy to say I am grateful for my family, for example. On the other hand, if you are someone who lost family recently, you automatically FEEL what that statement really means.


It's not just at Thanksgiving when we turn our gaze to gratitude, however. By focusing on what we are grateful for--we quiet down the noise of what irritates us, who irritates us, what we don't have--what others have more of, etc. Answer the question on a daily basis--what are you grateful for? Name three good things. This will train your brain and change your brain so that you can become more positive and experience more happiness in your daily life. It is not a woo-woo yoga on the mountaintop idea. It is proven to cultivate more happiness. Happiness gives way to healthiness. Happiness sets you up to seek out more happiness.


I want to say I am grateful to you for following my blog, asking me questions, challenging me to present you with helpful coaching messages. I hope you have a very happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your family or friends or solitude and focus on the gifts you get from living your life. Feel that you are, as always, enough.


With that in mind, I have a special inspirational gift of self care for December coming. Stay tuned!





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