So Blessed

It's no secret that I stress out, fall into slumps, and pretty much feel down in the dumps a little too often (who doesn't, really?). I really should stop, though, 'cause at the end of the day, things are actually pretty good. I'm lucky, or something like that.

There's a lot said this time of year about being thankful for what you have, and helping those that have less. It feels like in the past year or so, I've met and gotten to know a lot of people who have so much less than I do...so much less that it's made me realize just how much I have. I'm not saying we don't worry about money in my family; we do. A lot, actually. Which makes me even more sympathetic to the people who have even less.

But I don't want to talk about that today.

Instead, I want to talk about a different form of 'less'.

At one of our 4-H club meetings, we were discussing possibly going caroling or something during this Christmas season. We thought maybe a nursing home, or a children's hospital. Then someone came up with the idea of making a list of people that are elderly, sick, etc., and visiting them. I piped up (with very little forethought) and said "Yeah, and people who are just generally sad people!"

And everybody laughed.

And then I explained. "No, no, some people are just sad. They're mopey people, and need visiting..."

No one was really listening, but I've thought more about it. I mean people who are depressed, and a little distant. Just down in the dumps. They're not the people you go to when you've got exciting news and want to jump around and celebrate. They sigh a lot. They may (or may not) have been going through some trouble, but it's hard to feel sympathetic because they don't seem to want to be happy. Some people are just generally sad people.

The more I've thought about it, the more I've realized just how many generally unhappy people there are. I know I fall into it. And maybe we do have good reasons for being unhappy. Maybe our boss is an idiot, or school is unnecessarily annoying, or a friendship has taken a wrong turn. There are lots of good reasons to be unhappy.

None of them, though, are a good reason to stay unhappy. At the end of the day, we're the only ones responsible for our mood. Even when things go wrong, we're the ones who get to decide how much it affects us. I want to be happy even when I 'shouldn't be'.

So on this Thanksgiving, let's try to be more in charge of whether or not we're happy. There's just too much to celebrate to be sad. Here's a list of what's making me happy this year:

...the fact that it snowed this morning...

...It's the holidays. Simple as that...

...Library books...

...doing school in front of the woodstove....

...skating practices...

...Christmas cookie scheming...

...the fact that I'm almost done with Biology...

...watching Taxi...

...having a mum who's fun to laugh with...

...looking forward to more reading time...

...sweaters....

...my sheep are back from the breeders...

...we own the best cats ever...

...the cousins are coming for Thanksgiving...

...traditions with Dad...

...making plans...

...did I mention it's almost Christmas?...

Have a happy, safe, and cozy Thanksgiving, everyone! Before you go, though, what's on your happy list?