Grateful

I get pretty contemplative at the beginning of the holiday season in the western hemisphere. Here is the big benefit of citizen journalism: Since I create my own media, and my editor is my friend, I can pretty much get as personal or as opinionated as I want, and if my readership goes down, it's just my own darn fault, but I'm not taking an entire newspaper or broadcast station and all the employees and their families down with me. :-) So, since you've got the other 95% of your media to help you with your turkey, tell you how bad gas prices and airport boarding lines are, and/or how to get along with your in-laws this week (if you're not in the U.S., disregard this part), I just wanted to write this very personal note about how grateful I am, and to invite you into a few quiet moments of gratitude, too.

Two years ago this week I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and right about now, two years ago, my husband and I were getting ready to tell our children, and I was figuring out how to get out of a couple of consulting gigs because, in the few days since the diagnosis, I hadn't been able to figure out how to keep my work in other parts of the country going and go through chemotherapy at the same time (as laughable as that sounds, I did try pretty hard for a few days to see if that could work).

Just after Thanksgiving, on my next-to-last trip out to a client conference before I began my treatment, a whole room full of us coaches working with this particular company had dinner together. Since we are coaches, we felt compelled to have a topic ... and sharing ... and "meaning-making" as part of our gathering. So our two host/facilitators for the evening came up with the simple idea that we go around the room and share our gratitude -- however it was showing up for us that day.

Well, once someone starts, someone usually picks up on the theme, and pretty soon ... It was amazing. Everyone began talking about the people in their lives, their parents, teachers, coaches, guides in their lives -- personal, familial, spiritual -- and what they had learned from these other people. Before long, you could see that somehow, even though we were from all over the world and hadn't all known each other before, we were all connected through this school or that organization or this person who taught us that methodology. Soon, we had forgotten the stress and frustrations of the day, and we were all basking in this glow of appreciation for each other, for where we'd all come from, and for what we all cared about.

I can still conjure up the feeling of connection in that room, created just from a simple exercise of reflecting on someone or something that gave us gifts. I still see that as a beginning of something for me instead of an ending. It was the beginning of understanding the power of gratitude to change an experience, a person, a life. From a mood of gratitude, more things are available to us -- laughter, new ideas, more options, possibilities to appreciate others -- more possibilities, period.

Now, two years later, I thank the people in that room for that evening. I thank all my teachers young, old, gone, and still to come. I thank my family and friends for being a net of love and support through my difficulties and my ventures beyond the safety of myself and my world. I thank Liz and Audrey for saying, "Yes!" And, I thank you, if you're reading this, for being interested in our stories about the possibilities for humankind. As you begin your day, week, month, year, or life of "thanksgiving," take a peek at this sweet video:

Comments

[Shannon Rios]

Chris - You are so amazing. I remember that evening and I remember "our hand-off" that was so easily done. May we live our lives that way always, in freedom and ease. I have thought of you often and knew you were well. I am 100% on board with your mission. Love, Shannon