Thankful

It’s Thanksgiving, and I am totally, truly and deeply thankful. I have been blessed in ways too numerous to count. If I attempt to list the reasons for my thankfulness, how would I begin? I, of course, would say I am thankful for my family. I am so very proud of my children. They have become and are becoming adults who amaze me. This certainly is something to be thankful for.

My dear, dear friends, are a blessing, I dare say no one has friends like mine. Most people would call themselves lucky to have one friend who they could really count on; I have more than I can count on two hands. Such love I feel, even when we are far apart.

I am also blessed to have a roof over my head and food to eat, in a time when so many are struggling. I am in good health. I am fifty and for the most part, am happy with the results. I know that many people don’t make it to fifty and I am thankful. It would be easy to dwell on the aches, pains and wrinkles, but what’s the point if you want to be happy and content?

I am even thankful for the trials in my life. I have learned so much from them. I am not saying that I would have wanted the trials, but now that I have been through them I have found what true happiness is, and how little it takes to make me really happy. These trials have taught me compassion, patience, and how to be a giving person.

Life is full of things to be thankful for if we just take the time to notice. So take some time. They say that people who live a life filled with thankfulness and gratitude live longer. Don’t know if it’s true, but sure feels like it for me. I just might live to be a hundred. How about you?

Doors

I have been thinking about doors recently.  Kinda random, I agree.  I was down in Austin this weekend and was noticing all the different kinds of doors.  I noticed how some doors are inviting and some are not.

Just think about all the sayings that we use about doors.  Companies have an “open door” policy.  We say to our friends “our door is always open to you.”  Or have you heard the one that says, “when one door closes, another door opens?  How about “no one knows what goes on behind closed doors.”  When you stop and think about it, we have a perception that an open door is good and a closed door is bad.

An open door invites you in, you feel welcome.  You get the same feeling from a lighted doorway at night.  Doors that are open may even make you feel safe, as if no danger lay in wait for you.

On the other hand a dark doorway may make you nervous.  You might worry about the danger behind the door.  You feel uncomfortable.

I think doors are much like people.  We are drawn to well-tended, open people and shy away from those we perceive as, untidy, closed,  and dark.  The people I know who fall into the latter category, I shy away from.  I want my doors (people) to be open.  My doors will welcome me with a light to guide me to them.  My doors are never closed.

So, I started thinking what kind of door am I?  I hope that people see me as the bright yellow door that is well lit at night and always open.  That looking at my door invites them in.

How would people view your door?  Would they just hurry by not noticing it?  Or would they slow down and wonder if they could stop by sometime?