Thoughtful Thursday: Thinking Thankful Things

Happy Thanksgiving, American Music Therapists! Happy Thursday, everyone else!! Today is a day that is set aside in this country to recognize the process that European settlers and the indigenous peoples of this part of the world took to get to know each other. Whether you think that this situation was right or wrong, it happened, so I choose this day to think about other things that I am thankful for in these times.

I am not a person who enjoys the "traditional" foods of this holiday. I am not a person who gets all excited about spending time with other people. In fact, this Thanksgiving is pretty perfect for me - ham and cheese casserole, pecan pie, lots of alone time, and absolutely NO shopping outside of my home this weekend!! I mourn the loss of focus from a day to rejoice in what we already have and the new focus on getting stuff. I don't want to spend this day trying to fight my way to a "deal."

So, I don't.

I choose to spend this day contemplating things that I am thankful for...in no particular order...
  • my family - of course, this one is in a particular order. My family is my reason for doing the things that I do.
  • my friends - there aren't many people in the world that I consider to be close friends, but those that I have are dear to me.
  • my cat - there is something so comforting about being around a personality that includes vocalizations, cuddles, and arguments. My cat, Bella, brings so much joy to my life. She also drives me crazy, but I am thankful for that as well!
  • my health - it's been a bit dicey lately, but things are looking up in this area for me. It's amazing what changes when you take out something that just isn't working.
  • my profession - the music therapy profession is at a crossroads - again - and I am unsure what I will do if things don't really work out. I am hoping that logic will win out, but I feel that many are so far gone on the river of emotion that things will happen that will not be good for the profession. Amidst all this turmoil and arguing and...let's just say it - bull, I still love what I do - the day-to-day interactions with clients, using music to assist the persons I serve in finding their ways in this world. At the end of all this, I hope that we can all agree that this is the most important part of being a music therapist - the persons we SERVE.
  • my future - I have enjoyed the process of doing some planning for this upcoming year. The future is out there, shiny and new and ready to be lived. What a thing to be thankful for!!
What are you thankful for?

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