Blessed is the season which
engages the whole world
in a conspiracy of love.
— Hamilton Wright Mabie —

Christmastime is magical. Somehow it manages to take some of the grumpiest of grumps and hardest of hearts and soften them. Even through all the busyness, stress, and sadness many feel, people think of others more during the holidays than any other time.

It’s almost that time of the year when visions of sugarplums become reality and cookies and casseroles lay in wait to destroy diets across the land. A bah-humbug attitude sets in because everywhere you turn your will power gets a pie in the face—literally. You wake up with full intentions of “being good” and go to bed feeling overly full and despising the poor food decisions you lambasted your body with. Alas, this is not another article about dieting, willpower or “being good,” whatever that means. This is an article about honoring your body.

Surprise.

Last November my publisher’s note was about a quote that ignited my consciousness. It has been my guiding light ever since.  Last year about this time, right before my divorce from a 28-year relationship was final, I finally “got” the absolute power of gratitude, especially when coupled with grace.

Recently, I pulled out last November’s issue and in doing so read my publisher’s note again. I love the message so much, I would like to share a revised version of it, as it is something we all need to remember daily, especially during the Thanksgiving season.

My eating habits have changed for what I consider the better, but others would probably consider the worse. Recently, I looked in my fridge and realized how much has changed. Let’s take inventory: almond milk, pine nut hummus, strawberries, blueberries, Compari tomatoes, romaine hearts, fresh broccoli, light ranch veggie dip, cage-free eggs, organic natural peanut butter, crumbled bleu cheese, blue cheese dressing and seven gallons of high-alkaline water. Good Lord, no wonder I’m losing weight. If I sat down and ate it all in a day, which is a possibility given the right day, it would barely add up to the caloric intake of a ribeye, loaded twice-baked potato, buttery garlic bread and red wine dinner. For goodness sake, I’ve eaten more than this in one sitting—hello biscuits covered with sausage gravy.

The pages that follow this publisher’s note are awe-inspiring. Many of them feature stories of women and men who have overcome insurmountable odds and prevailed dreadful situations when all they had left was grit. As I read each one, I marveled at the moxie of the mind and the strength of the human spirit.

In this day and age of Facebook frenzies, political piranha pools and shallow first-world problems, these stories are a wake-up call to stop dwelling in drama and put problems into perspective.