Soulshine

There’s much emphasis on gratitude in recovery circles, but I don’t think it’s as simple as it sounds. We hear a lot about “act as if” you are grateful or “fake it till you make it.” This can work to a degree in helping us to develop a more positive vision. But it doesn’t work all that well when something that’s truly key to our lives is missing. “Acting as if” becomes pretty hollow after you discover that you yourself are missing from your life. “Fake it till you make it” only goes so far when the great love you’ve always longed for never materializes. And no amount of gratitude for wealth, good health or anything else can balance the desperation that comes with never having lived the life that deep-down you really wanted. So on this Thanksgiving Day, be as grateful as you can be. No one is required to be 100 percent grateful when they have a hole in their heart, and that’s OK. We all do the best that we can in any given moment. If we aren’t feeling as grateful as we thi...

There is photo that has recently gone viral on the internet. The photo shows two Middle Eastern men. The two men are holding individual small signs in their hands. The man on the left has a sign that says “I’m Jewish and I’m from Israel ,” and the man on the right has a sign that says “I’m Muslim and I’m from Palestine .” Together both men are holding a larger sign that says “Why can’t we all just get along.” And there’s a peace symbol at the top of the large sign. After studying the photo, I thought about how easy it would be to substitute so many other words onto their small signs. Instead of saying “I’m Muslim” and “I’m Jewish,” the small signs could also say "I'm White” and “I'm Black”-- Why can't we all just get along." Or they could say "I'm Gay,” “I'm Straight." Or "I'm American,” “I'm Iranian." Or "I'm Democrat,” “I'm R epublican."—“Why can’t we all just get along.” The list could go on an...