This is my second Thanksgiving alone by choice. The last one, was spent with Drew, my pup companion at the time and it was a very heartwarming evening. This one, I have no pup to spend the evening with, but I still chose to be my own company on a day when everyone is with family or friends. I decided once more to stay quietly at home, my new home, and enjoy the peace. I’m giving myself the gift of reflexion since there is little time for that now. Reflecting, especially at this age, is important, to see and feel more clearly with no rush in order to move forward with clarity. In a way, a kind of decluttering, actual and emotional.

I reflected on gratitude and everything I take for granted and shouldn’t. My home, my job, my friendships and lately my good health. I see people my age who have plenty of health issues. I’m lucky, although I must say that I do work on leading a healthy life. However, when disease strikes, it’s chance, no matter how healthy one has been. So, I’m really appreciating being able to have my health, can still exercise and live a pain-free existence for now.

I also took time to actually declutter today. I gave away a lot of things I don’t need. All the clutter gets in the way of my thinking. I need to travel light and have a clean and clear space. So, that job got done!

I still have a lot of emotional decluttering to do. This today entailed letting go of people whom I deeply care about but that no longer fit in my life. This is the hardest, but it can be done. Once we decide from the bottom of our hearts to let go, it clears the way for new people to come in and take up that space. It can be done as a ritual so that it becomes a sincere goodbye. The heart acknowledges this, understands, and hopefully, the brain does too. That’s the one we have to convince!

On this peaceful Thanksgiving, I feel great joy too because I know now more than ever how precious every minute is, and it’s not to be wasted stirring the past which is no longer relevant to whom I am today. In fact, yesterday a friend asked me if I felt any nostalgia about the past, and sincerely I told him that I didn’t and that I was happy with where I was at and wouldn’t go back to any of it.

There is still more evening left and I plan to enjoy it in the warmth of my new home.