Reasons to be cheerful – 1

So 2011 is here! I think most of us will wish a rather cheery goodbye to 2010 and try and look forward to this New Year with hope and belief that it can’t be any worse than the last couple of years.  But maybe there’s another way of looking at it than hoping and wishing that things will get better. I was thinking of my late mother today and one of her many words of wisdom came to mind, “when you’re feeling down – take a minute to count your blessings”.  I think we have all heard this from our parents or grandparents at some point.

So that gave me pause for thought. What are the blessings in my life?  In how many ways am I blessed?  Although life has become a bit of a struggle for all of us in recent years, when I look at the real joy in my life, could it be replaced or made better if there was a sudden upsurge in the economy?  If I had done some things differently, would those blessings be any better? 

The answer to these questions, in my case is generally – No!  Last night I was hugged by my eight year old son and as he lay beside me wishing me a happy new year, he said “I love you Dad”.  No amount of money or status can replace that feeling. So if, as I believe, all of my life has served to lead me to this point, then it has been a success.  The unconditional love of my son, his belief in me as a father and the pure joy I get from hearing him say those words could not have been made any better by anything.

The great Swiss psychiatrist, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross said “There are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from.”  Maybe it’s time to sit back and take stock of what is good in our lives instead of worrying about what’s wrong or not so good?  Each day is a fresh start and a time to re-evaluate our position in the world and whether that’s good or not-so-great, is there anything I can do to change it?

I hope you all have a happy and joy filled 2011.  Our blessings are there, all around us in every moment of every day, we just have to open our eyes and see them.  As Jonathan Swift supposedly said “May you live all the days of your life.”