Food for Thought: Happy Thanksgiving

It’s Thanksgiving. Hallelujah.

I have a lot to be thankful for; right now is possibly one of the best periods of my life, yet I often fail to realize that. Probably because I have it so good, all the time; I have an incredible family, a bounty of friends; some who have become like family, I am confident in most aspects of myself, and I have a job that I love. I’m lucky.

It wasn’t always like this, but I’ve always had things to be thankful for.

At the risk of sounding really cheesy (which I will likely do, and for that I am sorry.) Thanksgiving is a really good day to think about life; where you’ve been and where you are. It’s a perfect time consider life as a journey that you don’t always have a map to. Hell, I’ll admit that my life right now wasn’t my intention. I thought it would be different, yet somehow I lost my way and ended up here, and it’s exactly where I should be and where I want to be. 

Life is mysterious and good.

Every day we should be thankful for what we have in our lives, but that’s not always easy. Life throws curve balls, and even our most treasured moments can become general or even ugly. It’s all relative. The hard times are the times to remember that difficult situations usually give birth to a renewed life and a better sense of self. It’s a fundamental cycle of life: flowers grow in mud, caterpillars turn into butterflies, rainbows come after a rain storm. If it’s bad, it won’t always be. You can always make a happy ending.

Self realization and growth thrive in difficulty. It’s the one thing that can really instill changes in us.

I guess if we didn’t have to endure hardships it would be a lot easier to forego being thankful for the things that make life great. There is a reason for everything.

I am truly thankful for the people I have in my life. They’ve laughed with me, cried with me; they’ve listened to my endless thoughts on whatever subject I’m fixated on at the time, and they’ve accepted me for my “shelleyisms.” I know it’s not easy guys, I can be a handful, or downright annoying. Thank you.

I’m thankful for the opportunities I’ve been given and the ones that I’ve worked hard to create for myself. The realization that anything is possible is a godsend, even if you don’t fully believe in it at the time. There have been times in my life where I’ve felt trapped and the light at the end of the tunnel was seemingly nonexistent. But, you’ll never find the light if you don’t keep going forward, right?

Our time on this planet is short. We owe it to ourselves to accept the things we cannot change, and believe in a better tomorrow. I know that’s cheesy, but there are truth in those words, I can attest to that.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.