Thanks for Love, Friends and Family

Today on my way home I heard more about the tragedy in Cambodia in which people attending a water festival were caught in a stampede and over 300 men, women and children died. Approximately 700 more were injured. I had tears in my eyes as I heard about what a joyous festival they were celebrating and as I imagined how quickly something that was so beautiful turned so tragic. Families lost people they would never have imagined would die anytime soon. Some wailed as they identified a body as a person from their life.

I have been thinking about Thanksgiving and how happy I am, how grateful I am to have the people I do in my life, to have comfort, to have work that I love. I have been thinking of dear Juan Jose who on one day was happy, working and his usual loving, joyful self. Four days later he had died. I’ve been thinking of Marty who went for a bicycle ride and was hit by a car while he stopped at a Stop sign and nearly died. In an instant, on a morning like any other, his and his family’s life was dramatically changed. I feel even more grateful.

And I know that one day it will happen to me – I will lose those I love most dearly and/or they will lose me. I think of couples in my office who love each other and are caught in disconnection and sometimes stubbornness. And one day it will happen to them.

It all reminds me to celebrate Thanksgiving every single day, to give thanks for people I love and who love me, to realize the preciousness of every moment and every day that I have with them and to commit to keeping those connections as a sacred path and gift.