We have recently celebrated Thanksgiving, a special time to pause and to reflect upon our blessings. For what are we grateful? Do we have that attitude of gratitude?

High on my gratitude list are the persons, whom I know through our NSSRC. The other day, I arrived feeling discouraged from ongoing issues from my whiplash injury. I talked and laughed with friends. I listened to their stories. Each person has so much resilience, hope and even joy! They deal the best they can with the new, different lives, post stroke. I went home feeling more hopeful, more grateful and in communion with my friends, who face so many challenges.

I think we take turns with each other some days, my fellow survivors of stroke are bright stars of hope, of resiliency , of joy in my dark night sky. Hopefully, I am a shining star for some other persons, who are in a temporary dark night sky.

This past summer, I practiced gratitude every day. Due to injuries from a vehicle accident, there were days when all I could do was sit on my patio as the dizziness was so severe. One day , for over 2 hours, I watched a bird on my patio. I was grateful that I could see the bird, hear the bird and have the patience to appreciate the bird. I was also grateful for my beautiful patio.

Another day, I was grateful to be able to cut my hydrangeas and create this beautiful centerpiece (photo above). Of interest, Hydrangeas vary in their colour according to the soil’s acidity. A bit spectacular that all of these colours came from the same plant in the same soil!

And then, there is my new neighbour, the black bear! Some persons thought that this was the same bear as had visit-ed 3 days prior? Really? How can one tell the difference between bears?

So, I am trying to come up with my attitude of gratitude about my new bear neighbor. I admit, I was not smart but I was thrilled to video the bear when it was up in the tree. Did I mention that he had walked right by my patio? Yikes! In my wildest dreams, when I lived in New York , the thought of seeing a live bear or of sharing real estate with a bear never crossed my mind.

OK! I have got it! I am grateful for a real bear in my neighbor-hood because it makes me pray! I pray that the bear will go back into the woods, thus remain “wild”. I pray that my neighbours and I stay safe. See? Wait long enough and we find that in every event there is a blessing!

The gift of nurturing an attitude of gratitude, I find, is that I see the blessings sooner.

Peace, Jane Rundle
Happy Thanksgiving!