Our stories connect us, speak to our humanity, and let us know we’re not alone. Especially because of the dramatic events these past days, many due to storm Sandy, each of you have stories to share about change, frustration, flexibility, love, gratitude, letting go, and perseverance. I’d love to hear them. How we choose to perceive or respond to a situation can transform sadness into joy, or pain into gratitude. Here are a few perspective shifts that I recently experienced.

Letting Go

Our daughters always shared a small bedroom, which included a matched set of twin-sized captain beds. Since they are now in college and beyond, with one daughter temporarily moved back home, we planned to redesign the space, sell the beds, and replace them with one larger bed. We thought it would make the room more spacious and comfortable for family and friends. The girls encouraged the change. A few days after storm Sandy, the person buying the beds came to pick them up. In preparation, we emptied the room, which created temporary havoc in other areas. We cleaned, purged, organized, and put things back into this once familiar space. I hadn’t anticipated how upset I would feel when the room was disassembled and the beds left the house. The chaos of having things out of place along with the unpredictability of the storm stirred my emotions. The room’s transformation, which included letting go of the beds, marked the end of an era. My eyes welled up as tears of loss streamed down my cheeks. After some grieving, my tears stopped. Warmth enveloped me as I reflected about the positive family memories we had and new times ahead. As I let go to make room for the next stage, I felt lighter.

Gratitude

Within a few days of selling the beds, we realized that due to the storm, one of our large oak trees was ripping out of the earth by it’s roots and leaning dangerously over our house. Our tree guys came to assess the situation. They explained that we weren’t safe in the house, the danger was imminent, and our tree needed to be cut down. They couldn’t do the work right away because they were helping other local families who had more serious problems like trees crushing their homes. They secured the tree temporarily, which held it for two days before they returned to take it down. When I first realized that we were going to lose the tree, I was very sad. I loved this tree. It provided shade, was beautiful to look at, was familiar, and strong. As the days passed, my sadness shifted to gratitude that the tree had been removed before it could harm our family or our home. The sense of loss was replaced with feelings of gratitude.

Love

The day before our tree was removed, I brought my mom back to her home. She stayed with us for about a week because the storm left her without power, heat or phones. Once she settled in, I searched her house gathering up all the flashlights and making sure they were in good working order. My dad passed away in March. He loved his toys and gadgets. I knew that somewhere in his office he must have a multi functional flashlight. During my hunt, I uncovered three of his flashlights. The first was a bright yellow flashlight, which included a siren, a flashing light, and radio. Finding this made me smile because I found one of Dad’s “toys,” and cry because I missed him. I also found a flashlight that worked by shaking it, although, I couldn’t get it to light. Lastly, I found a large red flashlight that had a built in first aid kit. I showed them to my mom and the two of us burst out crying and then began laughing. Although he was gone, he was with us, helping us appreciate the humor and feel his loving presence.

It’s been an emotional time. How about you? What have you noticed during these past days? Have you seen any perspective shifts? Come join the conversation. Share your thoughts and stories.

Sometimes it’s the big things that help us appreciate the little things. How often do we stop to acknowledge the things that we often take for granted like phone service, heat, gas, or hot water? We just expect things to work, to be there when we need them, and to go on with life as we know it.

Many of us, including me have experienced some crazy things in the past few days due to superstorm Sandy, not just loss of services, but also fear, panic, and disorientation. In our town and many others, there are still people without electricity or phone service. You may be one of them. Gas and food are becoming scarce. I'm grateful that our electricity, heat, phone and Internet have all been restored as of today. They came back in varying intervals. I’m starting to see some very positive reports. I hope that all of your services are back soon too.

In the midst of this “storm,” I reminded myself of many things that I was thankful for. It helped me to keep a grateful perspective even in the face of uncertainty, fear, and potential danger. In the last few days, these were some of the things that kept me going. I was grateful for…

The safety of our family and friends

Our house being spared from falling trees

The stillness caused by the blackout

Reading more than usual

The extra time with family

Laughter

Imposed digital break

Cozy blankets

The lights and heat returning after 24 hours of darkness and cold

All the days when we had electricity and warmth

A hot shower

A hot cup of coffee

A hot cup of soup

Flexible, understanding clients

Other people’s resourcefulness

My own resourcefulness

Other people’s strength

My own strength

The brightly colored fall leaves

Living close enough to my Mom to bring her to our house for safety

Finding one working cell phone area in our town

Friends and family that checked in on us

Friends and family we checked in on

Having food to eat

A fuller house than usual

Making “French” chocolate in honor of my aunt’s visit

Phone service returning after four days of being out

All the days we had perfectly good phone service

Answering a ringing phone

Picking up the phone to make a phone call

Internet and email restored after five days of being disconnected

Many days we had of fully operational Internet and email

The messages of hope and good wishes on Twitter, Facebook, and email

Acknowledging that I can’t control everything

Letting go

It’s going to take me time to get back to normal. There are hundreds of emails, tweets, and other messages to respond to. There are calls to return and projects to complete. I’m still catching my breath. I am so grateful to be sitting here today with my hot cup of jasmine green tea, writing, and sharing this post with you. While the storm put me a bit off schedule, we’re here now. Together.

I’ve missed you. I’d love to hear how you’re doing. What’s on your mind? Please take a moment or two to share. At this moment, what are you grateful for?

“And thank you for a house full of people I love. Amen.”

— Terri Guillemets

Life throws us curve balls. Some we catch and others get dropped. During the last several days we had family emergencies, change of plans, comings and goings, and hosting for Thanksgiving. There were tears, laughter, music and quiet. There were hugs, dancing, pain and joy. It was a yoyo of emotions and moods.

Pauses for resting, eating, walking and just being helped me navigate the tumultuous days. Mostly though I was filled with gratitude that our daughters were home and much of our family was here. Holidays can be difficult because we miss our loved ones that can’t be with us. This year, some had other plans, some have passed away and some were too ill to travel. It was a mixture of sweetness for those that were here with a cloud of sadness for the ones we missed.

My heart is full of gratitude and love for the time-shared both in the distant and recent past. With more holiday time coming, I’m looking forward to having the family together again soon.

What are you looking forward to?

One of the beautiful things we can express as human beings is gratitude. Incorporating it regularly in your day can help you keep perspective and balance. Especially now as Thanksgiving approaches, gratitude thoughts permeate my mind.

There is so much to be thankful for. As we know, life is far from perfect. We are far from perfect. However, in the midst of life’s busyness, pausing to acknowledge the positive enhances our joy and brings us peace. There is much to be grateful for. Take time to reflect and appreciate the wonders that surround you. Luckily, there is an endless supply once you put “gratitude” on your radar. It’s impossible to capture everything. I’d like to share a few from my list.

Linda’s List - I Am Grateful For:

• Loved ones here and gone. I love and appreciate my family and friends. Some are in my daily life, others are at a distance, and many have passed away. No matter where they are, they are always with me. I am grateful for them and don’t hold back from letting them know how I feel.

• Sun and rain. On sunny days, my entire being feels lighter, colors are more vibrant, I feel less bothered by small annoyances, and I can see more clearly. When the rain comes, I love those days when I can stay inside with a good book, hot tea, and a warm, soft blanket.

• Working and non-working parts. When we're young and when we age, our bodies aren't always able to do as we wish. We either lack the skills or have lost them. There's the time in between when are bodies work as we expect. It’s so easy to take our health for granted. I appreciate all that is working right now.

• Sweet and sour. Nourishment is essential to our existence. I am thankful for the basics, but also am passionate about certain tastes, textures and scents. The short list includes coffee ice cream, almost anything chocolate, black licorice jelly beans, concord grapes, all berries, tomato with mozzarella and basil, grilled salmon, and lemons. I am grateful that my senses are working and allow me to fully appreciate these foods.

• Activity and quiet. Our house was always a bevy of activity as we raised our daughters. We encouraged them to invite friends over and loved having a full house. They are now both away at college. We have become empty nesters and it’s much quieter. Soon the house will be lively again for the holiday. I am grateful for both the energy of a full house and the quiet of less.

• Organization and chaos. As a professional organizer, you might think I only like extreme order. In fact, I am grateful for both order and chaos. I appreciate a certain amount of organization with room for a dash of chaos. I’m grateful for the dichotomy and flow between the two.

• Status quo and change. I recognize that change is essential for growth. I go through periods where I’m actively stirring the pot. But there are also times where I am able to just let things simmer and be. Both have value.

• Structured and unstructured days.  More of my days have a plan to them then not. I function well with a schedule. To balance that, I also need days that let me just “float.” I can wake up when my body is ready, without a special agenda, and do whatever I feel like. I can do or not do. I need and am grateful for both types of days.

• Old and new friends. There’s a folk song we used to sing when I was a kid that went, “Make new friends and keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.” There’s nothing quite like our “old” friends where we share a history. They knew us when. We share a lifetime of bonds and experiences. With new friends, we are in the discovery mode. The ties are in the making.  I am thankful for all of my relationships.

What are you feeling grateful about right now? Take a gratitude break. There’s space below in the comment area to share your thoughts.