Standing in this 100 year old homestead house built out of wood and stone reminds me that we are not the only people to have gone through hard times.

People have suffered depressions, wars, droughts, floods, pandemics, they were left in awful conditions.

Yet, this houses foundation remains standing in place. A house that does not have an adequate foundation will crumble under stress.

The same goes for a person’s personal foundation. It literally becomes the platform from which everything else in one’s life develops and grows.

Without a foundation, a person can spend most of his or her day struggling to just keep up with each crisis that may come his or her way.

At the end of the day, this person is exhausted missing out on leading the successful and happy life that he or she wants.

It’s been a very weird year for most. In fact, it’s going to go down as one of the most eventful years in history just like the Great Depression.

For me, I seriously can’t think of a single bad thing that happened to me personally big enough to write about this year.

No, I’m not boasting or showing off. I’m not saying “look at me, with my perfect little life”. I’m saying “Yes! I have got this! (About time!)”

I am saying that the whole point of self-improvement, growth, self care, a healthy lifestyle and the answer to “finding happiness”, is to still be able to thrive at least emotionally during global pressures such as what 2020 has thrown at us.

Nothing huge happened to me other than changing my own mindset. It doesn’t mean I am not affected by the awful circumstances that we find ourselves in though.

It means I am able to not spiral down, recognize my own achievements, and appreciate so much more than I ever used to.

Thanksgiving Holiday is upon us and this year is different. I find it less stressful than previous years. There will be no cooking all day and preparing for the dysfunction that often set at the table.

A year that, with all its negativity, loss and hardship globally and personally, has revealed a surprising silver lining.

Namely, the opportunity to slow down in a world that never stops going.

And for once, I don’t feel the need to apologize for this.

And perhaps this Thanksgiving, without the obligatory small talk and hours baking in front of a blazing oven, we can all find a little more space to be ourselves and reflect on what we’re truly thankful for this surreal year.

I look out to my farm, watch my horses graze, birds go to the feeders and leaves blowing in the wind, say my affirmations, write in my gratitude journal and give thanks.
My mornings are my boosters.

What would be the point of only acknowledging and being thankful for the bigger things in our lives? I cannot give attention to what I don’t have because that means I’d be neglecting what I do have. And it’s a a lot!

Already, I feel there is so much more to be thankful for that are even more obvious — I have two legs, two eyes, coffee, loving relationships, a nice farm to walk, dogs and horses, all the clothes and food I need. I could turn my list into a book.

With love,
Sheri