Hypothesis: Optimism and Gratitude Go Hand-In-Hand

I agree and always keep in mind that despite adversity, I also have many positive aspects in my life. For this, I am very grateful. I try to remember that in the scheme of life, the small stuff shouldn’t be stressed over.

This season brings many blessings to mind. Everyone has their own issues, which is why we are on this site, I suppose. Life can bring us surprises that challenge us in different ways. I guess we all just do the best we can to cope. I’ve learned to be gentle with myself and I’m learning acceptance too.

Happy Thanksgiving to you as well! Glad to see your post today.

@scottrl Your thoughts on gratitude are beautifully stated and I think completely correct. Definitely not an oversimplification in my experience.

Your post resonates with me today as I had just yesterday shared on MCC my Thanksgiving day medical emergency experience from last year and a gratitude list for where I am today. It’s a long post but wraps up with a gratitude list. I felt an incredible sense of peace and gratitude for my life while writing this.

And I think as you have suggested, gratitude brings optimism and I’ll add that optimism can help to bring healing (mind/body connection). Thank you for sharing your thoughts and my best wishes to you for a good and peaceful life. Happy Thanksgiving.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/thanksgiving-day-one-year-after-gratitude/

@scottrl I would like to add to your post Acceptance.

This past year it has been hard to accept some undeniable signs of (premature to my mind) aging. I always remember my Dad, at my age saying "The spirit is willing but the body says NO". You can relete to this - I learned to gracefully allow my husband to do that which I previously did for myself. Fortunately, this situation should be temporary, but if not, I know how to do this.

I am preparing for Thanksgiving Dinner in our winter community, but instead of being one of the "heavy lifters" as in the past, I am relegated to simpler, one-handed tasks and fewer hours. Before we left home, I needed to accept that when asked "Do you need help with that?" my response must be a smile and and thanks. So many wonderful people have jumped in to help - both friends and strangers - that it lightened my heart.

Fun question to contemplate, and interesting answers. Mine is different though, as I'm a complete pessimist and worst-case-scenario person who is also grateful! I actually keep a gratitude journal and express my thanks to friends & family & the universe daily. For example, I'm very grateful right now to be visiting the beautiful city of San Francisco with my husband (I could list his virtues but won't!). However, I'm convinced it is going to rain despite weather report and that public transportation won't work today (although it always has before.) Some of this is anxiety, some reality or experience base, and some is just admitting my mind and soul can be pretty complicated.
Happy Thanksgiving to you!

I have always been an optimistic person.....until the last few years have beaten me down. My optimism has taken so many hits, and disappointments that I can’t hold onto it anymore. I am grateful for many things, but my list is shorter. I try to be hopeful that my health will perhaps improve somewhat.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.

You are not alone, @dloos. Life can be hard at times. Life can be unfair too. This makes it hard to remember that life can be incredibly beautiful and "angels" can come into our lives in a heartbeat to bring us hope for a better tomorrow. It is my hope that an "angel" comes into your life today. I also hope that you have a beautiful Thanksgiving, filled with love, joy, and of course, great food! Take care!

Love your post! I do believe in angels and miracles. The tough stuff is difficult to understand.

I do anticipate better days ahead. It’s difficult to accept that some things are not within my control.

I understand what you're saying, @celia16. It took a long time and a lot of hard times for me to realize that angels are all around us, and come in many forms. For example, my latest angel appeared to me late one night when I was taking my trash bins to the curb for pickup the next day. I was in the habit of taking them to the street after I thought my neighbors were asleep because I didn't want anyone to see me using a walker because some of them had been cruel to me about it. I had just gotten out of the hospital after spending 6 months there, several weeks in a coma at the beginning and the rest on a ventilator, so I was still feeling fragile and since it was at the start of the pandemic, more than a little fearful of people who were under a lot of pressure due to lockdowns and uncertainty about the future. On this particular night, I took my first bin to the street using a technique I had developed using my walker, then returned to my garage and was resting a bit before taking the second one to the street. As I sat there, I saw a tall man with grease on his clothes walking down the middle of the street, coming my way. Given how fearful I was of people at the time, it struck me later that I was not afraid of him, not even when he smiled and started walking toward me. Without a word, he grasped my second trash bin and took it to the street, then came back and said, "Good evening. My name is Tim." It turned out that he was a neighbor who lived across the street and two houses up from me, and he had just gotten home from work as an independent mechanic of semi trucks. We chatted for a while and then he went home. But that wasn't the end of it. From then on, whenever it showed, he came to my house to shovel my driveway, and eventually, his daughter (a cute little 8-year-old) started coming to take my trash to the street every Tuesday, then return the next day to bring my bins back up to the house. At Christmas, he and his two young daughters bring me plates of food and then the girls sing Christmas carols for me. Tim is my angel. He may have grease on his hands, he doesn't have wings (that I know of--smile) but he is my angel who not only reminds me that people can be incredibly good, but makes me feel safe in a neighborhood where I once feared being seen. Those are the angels I think are all around us--they look, act, and live like regular people, but they do more. They care for, help, and protect others. I hope everyone finds their angels today and throughout the year.

@janchan I enjoyed reading your post. What a beautiful acount. Tim is indeed an angel, and I am so glad that God sent him to you to "walk alongside" you. That's what I call a true guardian angel! So, on this Thanksgiving Day, even though I don't know him, I thank God for Tim. May the Lord bless him for the unparalleled kindness that he has shown you.
🙏🏼💕

What I think is especially great about Tim is that he's teaching his children to be angels too. Now, that's what I call a legacy to be proud of!