This Sucks! but Thank You

I've always loved Thanksgiving. It is probably my most favorite holiday of the year, because it is based on the principle of celebrating harvests together, and offering thanks for what we have. However, when I look back there have been many Thanksgiving holidays in which I have been emotionally charged and unstable. And there were several Thanksgiving holidays where I happily traveled out of the country. In hindsight, I attribute this to being surrounded with my family. As with any family, no matter how loving and open, there is always going to be shit to deal with. Sometimes its easy, sometimes not. Of course we feel the most gratitude during times of abundance, of ease, when we are full and radiant. But what about when we are stuck, when we are challenged, when the furnance breaks? I know. Its not so easy. When we are being challenged in some way, saying "thank you" is not the first response. It isn't until much later we might actually consider being grateful for the experience.

Saying "thank you" in the heat of an argument or the minute the furnace breaks aint gonna happen, unless we are Buddhist monks. But, maybe we can slow down the reaction time; by inviting breath in and allowing ourselves to be more open and receptive to the experience. It might lessen the intensity and lead us to gratitude sooner than later. Being receptive requires letting go of control, and listening to what the present moment has to offer.

Regardless of how we perceive it to be, it is what it is. So, we have a choice, we always have a choice. We can choose to resist the situation we have been presented with and continue to go about our life cursing and blaming, get through it, and find ourself in the same situation again and again. Or we can choose to accept what is happening, open up to it in a receptive way, so we can listen to what is begging for our attention and journey through it towards greater wisdom.

For me, Thanksgiving holidays and other family gatherings have gotten smoother over the years. Yoga has been an essential tool in this journey.  Yoga has taught me to breathe and thus relax my physical body. But mostly yoga has taught me to look within and recognize that my circumstances are my own, no one is at fault and that only I have the power to change them. This has helped me to be able to thank my parents, my siblings, my grandparents, my friends, my husband and now my daughter for all the opportunities for growth that they have given me and will continue to give me.

Thank you everyone!