Reflections on Gratitude for Thanksgiving 2017

I love Thanksgiving Day - as well as the days that lead up to it and follow it. In part because I strongly believe that it is important in a fundamental way to be grateful - especially for the people who have helped us along our life’s path. I wanted to share a few questions for reflection concerning gratitude - as well as my own personal responses. I hope that this might encourage you - my dear friends and colleagues - to similarly reflect on those who have played a role in helping you to get to this point in your own unique and amazing lives. 

Where did your journey begin and who helped you then?

I was born into a loving family and I thank my Mom and Dad and later, my brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors and friends in South Buffalo for giving me a sense of belonging. I have lived in many places in my life, but in my heart of hearts, this is my home.

Who taught you important life lessons outside of the home?

The Sisters of Mercy - including one of my best friends to this day, my sixth-grade teacher, Sister Virginia Marie. They taught be that we are all brothers and sisters - a core principle that I return to again and again - even when my fear or ignorance might be suggesting otherwise.

What about when you went away to college or whatever came next?

Abe Rothberg, who was my teacher and then a friend for many years until his passing a few years back. Abe was complimentary of my writing skills when I wondered if I had any gifts or skills worth sharing. He also was tough and held me accountable in ways that I needed. He flunked me in British Literature in my last semester and I could not graduate on time as a result. I will write more about this soon, but this was a kick in the rear that I needed at the time and it led me to a better path than I had been on.

What were the twists and turns that unfolded that you might not have imagined when you were starting out in your life as young adult?

I guess that I would have lived in so many amazing places: Dublin Ireland, San Francisco, Kingston Jamaica and Chicago before living in so many wonderful neighborhoods in the Greater Boston area: West Newton, Back Bay, Jamaica Plain, Dorchester, Brighton, Lexington and Norwood. I have met amazing, warm, fun and capable people in each one of these places. I became a Jesuit and later left; I married and was blessed with a daughter and son. I worked for and learned from the legendary Bob Gatti and my Gatti colleagues for over twenty years.  I am now so incredibly happy to be a career coach and advisor and to have my health and time for things I love to do - like running hills, basketball, kickboxing and yoga. I am so grateful to have been blessed with friends and co-workers who have enriched my life through all these moves. I miss so many friends and family who are no longer here on earth -and yet I feel them strengthening me even now. There are no words to express my gratitude.

How do you sum it all up?

With my favorite quote: “Life is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved.” I love this thought as it resonates with what I have experienced about life as this amazing journey that unfolds and does not just happen. Whether in joy or sorrow, pleasure or pain, love or fear, life as I have experienced it is always unfolding, surprising, offering something new or different. My cup overflows. Thank you to all who have played a part in this.

What are you grateful for my dear friends and colleagues?