Art by Norma Jean Zahner
In my forties I composed a Gratitude List: 100 Things That Make My Heart Sing.
I was wrestling with the “Big C” then. There was little I could do but ride the recovery roller coaster, so I cinched my safety belt and wrapped every part of me in Yea-ness. I was determined to block the blues.
Three decades and three bouts of cancer-survivals later, I find myself still alive-and-kickin’. Happiness has a new definition for me. Life needs to plop a blop of sorrow into its savory stew on occasion. Otherwise, our essence is anything but full. Joy and woe are what keep us in balance.
Odd, right?
But we need difficulty mixed into our happy. Many of you may know what I’m talking about: radical gratitude. For example: Cancer pushed me back into teaching to get health insurance.
That tilt of a domino tipped me into a divorce which moved me to North Carolina where I helped launch The Bascom. That connection led me to The Laurel.
Today, 20 years later, The Laurel still feels like family. It’s where I learned to dance lyrical nouns with vibrant verbs. It introduced me to Ran Shaffner, professor, historian, author, word-wizard, comma-cutter, and publisher. He turned me into a card-carrying, international author. Granted, compared to most, I’m pocket-sized, but, thanks to Ran, I’m gigantically satisfied.
My mistakes, divorces, and hardships are my fertilizer (let’s laugh and call it that). It keeps my roots and limbs nourished. Each morning as I awake, I wiggle fingers and toes, then announce to my yawning cat, “We’re still alive!” She’s pleased my legs continue to function, as she has yet to master the sardine opener.
So this Thanksgiving, put some of your woes on your joy list. Here are some of mine: heartbreaks (that help me mature); failures (that help me learn); grieving (that helps me value what’s gone).
And finally, in anticipating 2026, consider these words from Leonard Cohen.
“You look around at a world that is impenetrable
You either raise your fist
Or say hallelujah
I try to do both”
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