Fuel for Thought
Sweet November
Who can say where the road goes?
Where the day flows?
Only time.
Who can say when the roads meet
That love might be in your heart?
And who can say when day sleeps
If the night keeps all your heart?
Only time.
October starts the turning of the leaves. The trees transform from green giants absorbing the sun and providing shade, to a canvass of vibrant colors in hues of reds, oranges, golds, and even pinks and purples. It signifies the coming of shorter days and cooler weather.
As those colorful leaves begin to fall, slowly at first, then ever more quickly as October slips into November, so does the inevitable slide into that thing we all try to ignore: depression. The end of the year, the holidays, “the most wonderful time of the year” they proclaim is often filled with memories of loss, loneliness, and sadness. We tell ourselves there is a reason these holidays are “for kids”. They haven’t experienced life. They haven’t experienced the pains of loss in life. They don’t have to work through the holidays. We can conjure up a hundred million reasons in our heads to be grumpy, to be morose, and to be legitimately and overwhelmingly depressed, as like the falling of the leaves the end of the years creeps ever closer. As adults, as the years go by it seems we have more and more reasons to dread the coming of the season of good cheer. It’s all too easy to give into the negativity and let those sorrowful feelings overwhelm us.
Bah-humbug! The Scrooge wants to come out in all of us.
But you know what? This time of the year isn’t just for kids. No! It’s for you. It’s especially for you! It’s to remind you of all the wonderful blessings in your life. Blessings, gifts, treasures, good things, happinesses, joys, however you want to see it. Each falling leaf in beautiful vivid color is a reminder of a happiness in your life, something to be thankful for. As adults, even more than kids, this time of year is for you. As those colored leaves fall, slowly at first, then increasing in speed and volume as they fade and darken to shades of tan and brown, it is life reminding you to shed your troubles, let go of your past, and get ready face the future with a fresh start.
There is a 30-Day Thankfulness Challenge going around. And I challenge each of you to participate. Do so openly, publically. Let people see. Be proud of the things you are thankful for. Don’t just say you will participate, be active, be Nike… Just Do It!
Every day post something in a public forum you are thankful for. Your family, you kids, your job, the sun in the sky, the parking spot at the truck stop, the price of fuel, a smile from the waitress, something. Anything. Any little thing. Remind yourself daily, amidst all the great big adult responsibilities we have to deal with on a daily basis that drag us down and tear us apart inside, that there are still good things around us to be thankful for; that we still have happiness in our life to be thankful for. Even it is not much, it is something, and that little bit of something is worth holding onto during this trying time of the year. Use that little bit of something to get you through the long hours on the road when your mind is your worst enemy. Look back on your thankful blessings every day with a smile.
#30DayThankfulnessChallenge
~Sierra Sugar