Silver Linings and Gratitude

During this Thanksgiving week, I’ve been thinking about how Silver Linings go hand-in-hand with gratitude.

Both look for (and find!) the positive in life. It’s the Half-full vs. Half-empty mentality. I love looking for Silver Linings and then feeling the gratitude for finding them.

My Silver Lining philosophy has taught me to not take things for granted. Quite the opposite, in fact. I find it so amazing, astounding actually, that when when I am consciously grateful for the good and wonderful things in my life — the Silver Linings — I notice more and more things that I have to be grateful for. It is a magical ripple effect.

The most vivid (well, one of them) memory that I have from my treatment for FBC is when I was so sick that I couldn’t get the 6 feet from my bathroom to my bed. I was literally laying on the floor. Drooling. I thought (challenged, actually), “Ok, where the f-bomb is the f-bomb Silver Lining now?” The very moment that I wondered that, my dear sweet dog Buzz came into the bathroom and laid down next to me. About two seconds later, the HOTY (a/k/a Husband of the Year) came into the room and ever so gently put my head in his lap. He didn’t try to move me or say something to try to make things better. They both just sat with me. Where I was. That was a wingdinger of a Silver Lining for which I still have deep and profound gratitude.

Even though I was in as awful a place as I could have ever imagined being, a Silver Lining presented itself and I had (and still have!) enormous amounts of gratitude. What I learned from that experience was that Silver Linings and gratitude can come in the darkest moments. They don’t in any way take away the pain or sadness (or nausea and vomiting), but they do provide perspective. And balance.

Two years later, I’m happy — thrilled actually — to say that I still look for and find Silver Linings and the accompanying gratitude. This Thanksgiving, I hope that you are able to do the same thing.