Thanksgiving

All day on Thursday 25th November I  felt as if it should be a holiday. I woke up with the sense that it was a day off, I was even surprised that the shops were open when I went out for a short drive to get a coffee.... (feel free to insert eyeroll here!!).

I suspect it comes from being connected by my interests to so many people in the USA. Social networking can sometimes make you forget where you live. Well, if  I ignore the fact that 90% of the people who are my Facebook friends are talking about snow storms & ice while we are experiencing the most wonderfully warm & sunny Spring in a long time I might forget where I live....but you get my drift ;)

Regardless of it's origins Thanksgiving seems to me to be a great celebration. In comparison to Christmas where it appears to have become all about the giving & receiving of gifts, Thanksgiving is all about what the name implies. Giving thanks & taking a moment, or a day, surrounded by those that are important to you to reflect on all we have to be thankful or grateful for.
Not so strange then that often those things for which we are grateful also happen to be the things that money can't buy.

Whether it was giving thanks to God for the safe arrival in a new colony, celebrating the survival of a harsh winter or abundant crops safely harvested in order to ensure survival through to the next season - no amount of money could have brought them about. It took things both bigger & at the same time a lot more basic.

There is a whole lot that money can't buy - a clear sunny day, a starlit sky, sunrises, sunsets  & pretty much anything to do with nature, joy, inner peace, self confidence, love, happiness (no particular order here), a babies first smile...or any of a babies or childs 'firsts' for that matter. In fact it seems to me that there is a whole lot more important things that it can't buy - than there are material things that it can.

Friends that are there 'no matter what' rank really high on the 'what money can't buy' list to me. Many are friends that I have never met, cyber friends who take the time to email or pop by this blog of mine & just read, or leave words of wisdom, understanding,  encouragement  or even just a brief comment. These are the people I am grateful for - they keep me grounded & gently guide me back on track when I'm feeling a little lost. Over the last 3 months I've been feeling quite a lot lost ;)

I realised on Thanksgiving that these people deserve a special shout out here in blogland. It's all very well me giving thanks & being grateful - but how are you to know unless I tell you?