Blessings: In Disguise and Otherwise

So, tomorrow is American Thanksgiving.  To my American friends and followers, “Happy Thanksgiving!”  As a Canadian, it’s been just over a month since I celebrated and gave thanks with my family.  Not sure why our Thanksgiving holidays are on different days, but they are.  And yet, despite that, the intention is the same, obviously:  to pause, and give thanks for blessings, in disguise and otherwise.  The kicker, of course, is that our focus is very much on the “otherwise” — the blessings that are perhaps more obvious and visible.  That being said, the ones in disguise really do warrant our gratitude as well.

For example, I’ve had numerous (and I do mean NUMEROUS) experiences this past week of having scheduled appointments fall through at the last minute.  Reasons have been varied, everything from illness to double-booking, to simply forgetting.  And while my initial reaction is quite often one of exasperation (it can certainly be frustrating to feel “stood up” in any way, shape or form), I’ve actually had some fun flipping the perspective of inconvenience into one of blessing.  You see, each and every rescheduling or rejigging afforded me the opportunity to have the gift of timre that I didn’t originally have.  And for a woman who’s got a whole month of projects and activities to catch up on, unexpected time is absolutely welcome.

So, as you anticipate the pause to give thanks that arrives tomorrow, my request of you is that you look beyond the obvious.  While I know you’re thankful for the abundance of good things, the opportunities in your life, your family and friends, what I really want to know is, what blessings are in your life that are just waiting to be noticed?  What have you not yet acknowledged?  Make a game out of it.  Toss marbles in a jar as you enumerate the myriad of blessings in your life.  Notice how quickly it fills up — and use more than one jar if you need to.

The bottom-line, I believe, is that we are all markedly more blessed than we realize.  Sometimes we simply need to change our lenses — or at the very least, clean our lenses — in order to see the bounty that surrounds us.  There really is much to be thankful for.  Happy Thanksgiving all!