Tis the season of giving cheerfulness and feeling thankful...

The gift of a smile and cheerfulness should be generously shared. Smiles lead to more smiles,s cheerfulness to more cheerfulness.

None of us fully understands what another person is feeling, but rest assured that smiles, warmth, kindness and cheerfulness are soothing to people and a salve to hurts. Choosing to be cheerful means you are willing to free yourself from what is convenient to you at the moment and reach out to others whose experiences you don’t fully understand, giving them a safe pathway to reach back. This is honesty, as no one knows what another is truly feeling, but we can genuinely want each other to feel comfort. We do know that warm, cheerful expressions can ease and sooth others difficult feelings and pain, rather than promote them. Signaling tension and anger breeds tension and anger. Let’s focus on breeding cheerfulness and warmth. Michel de Montaigne shared these wise words, “The most certain sign of wisdom is cheerfulness”.

Now for the gratitude part of the season: I love this poem. It may seem silly (which is good), but a closer look reveals the profound.

I am thankful for:

  ...the mess to clean up after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

…the taxes that I pay because it means that I’m employed.

…the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to wear.

…the shadow who watches me walk because it means I am out in the sunshine.

…the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking.

…all the complaining Ihear about our Government b because it means we have freedom of speech.

…that lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear.

…lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.

…my huge heating bill because it means that I am warm.

…weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means that I have been productive.

…the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I am still alive.

~ Nancy J. Carmody

Happy holidays, Peggy Webbe, your President

#DecemberNewsletter