December - Grateful to be in the game

Grateful to be in the game

'Tis the season of giving thanks and being grateful.  And with every article I read about the survivors of Hurricane Sandy, I am reminded that I have much to be grateful for both big and small – a roof over my head, dry clothes, pictures of my children safe and sound in a metal box. I have many good things for which to be grateful, but two young women recently reminded me what true gratitude can be.

 A few days before actual Thanksgiving Thursday, I was privileged to join a group of 20 teens living in a residential treatment center for their family style Thanksgiving dinner. Most of them were battling self-destructive behaviors; all had harmed themselves in some way. At the close of the meal, they were asked to say what they were grateful for. While all of the comments were moving and meaningful, two really made me think about how basic gratitude can be.

One girl said she was grateful to be alive because she almost succeeded in committing suicide. As this young woman knew, even in trying times, life itself is something to celebrate. Similarly, another young woman, whose arms were covered with the scars of years of cutting herself, spoke quietly as she expressed gratitude for her counselors, who had helped her learn to trust herself. She, too, said that she was grateful to be alive.

These two young women knew firsthand that each life is a kaleidoscope of good and bad and that there is something to be learned in both. But after much bad, they were grateful merely to still be in the game. They were grateful for life. They were grateful to be able to see the fall flowers on the table, hear their friends giggling, taste the tartness of the cranberry sauce, smell the aroma of the turkey and experience the community of the meal.

I have many thinks to be grateful for but these girls reminded me that as long as I have breath, I have life, and as long as I have life, I am grateful. Knowing this, I can be grateful for all I see, hear, taste, smell and experience.