Happy Moment #5: Thankgiving

I know it must sound like quite the cliche to mention that Thanksgiving is the perfect opportunity to give thanks for all the wonderful blessings in our lives. Though I am not a religious person, I would still describe the happy moments and people in my life as "blessings." In fact, one of the Google definitions of this word is "a beneficial thing for which one is grateful; something that brings well-being." I am lucky that I gave lot of these great "things" in my life.

In this year of seeking happy moments, I notice that I am spending more time asking questions like "Do I want to do this?" or " Is this going to make me happy?" before I commit to whatever it is that I am committing to. For example, I knew that many great folks were going to be running a Thanksgiving run of some sort this morning and a part of me wanted to hit the registration button and sign up for the event. But then I paused -- is this something I really wanted to do this morning? Was there something else that might make me happier?

And there was. I wanted to sleep in (in the midst of this crazy busy semester) and spend my morning with Jim and Stella. So I didn't register and I had a great morning. But taking the time to ask questions like this is hard -- it makes me more self aware of how I feel and that is not an easy task for me at all.

So on this day of honoring the wonderful blessings in our lives, I recognize that I am super lucky in having a spouse who is my true partner, a dog who adores me (and vice versa!), a family who loves me, friends who bring endless joy to my life and its adventures, a job that makes me happy (most of the time!), eyes that are still working enough to read great pieces of literature, hands that enjoy sewing and making things, legs that keep me going in races that I often don't train hard for, and a stomach that appreciates fantastic food and yumminess!