Simple Gifts

As another year comes to a close, it is human nature to take a moment and reflect.  Since the cancer diagnosis and treatment, each year that goes by is viewed as a gift.  Each day and all the moments are the extra, the icing on the cake – the things that may not have been if the cancer had won. 

With each passing day and month and year, I find it harder and harder to live each day with a feeling of gratitude.  I was so overcome with that feeling when Kelly 2.0 emerged from beating cancer.  But now, the worries of daily life sometimes cloud my ability to see past those things that aren’t important.

But stopping to reflect helps me re-center and to focus on the right things.  The things that matter.  The things that make humanity awe-inspiring.

Moments worth remembering were plentiful this year.  Many days were spent in the sunshine enjoying laugher with friends.  It was a year in which we made new friends.  I gazed upon the Golden Gate Bridge in wonderment.  I loved watching the joy that making a great batch of wine brought my husband.  There were many beautiful sunrises and sunsets.  I stood at the top of NC watching the clouds roll in and feeling totally alive.  There was much creating – whether with words or ideas or with my hands.    

And yes, there was sadness at times.  Losses.  Struggles.  Unspeakable and unexplainable things that happened.  But all the darkness only emphasizes the need to focus on the light.

I will make it my goal this year and every year that I am given to live a life of gratitude and of joy.  To not just enjoy great moments, but to find ways to create them for myself and others.  And I ask you to do the same.  Together we can make the world a better place – one moment at a time.