On Gratitude by Maria Grazia Swan

A long time ago, when I was going through my divorce and felt for sure I would never be ‘whole’ again, I used to calm myself to sleep by counting my blessings.

I still count my blessings almost every night, not out of desperation but more out of habit. A happy habit. And the numbers are constantly growing. While in my time of despair I would only find comfort in a few major blessings, now that time and maturity have sharpened my sense of gratitude, I have enough daily thanks to click through the beads of an entire rosary.
No, I’m not going to bore you with my long (and very personal) list. But I would like to share something I consider ‘seasonal gratitude’. Please don’t laugh when I tell you that I’m grateful we’re in an elections year. No kidding.

Why?” you may ask.

If, like me, you follow international news, you are well aware of the massacres happening in Kenya following their elections. And certainly the Bhutto assassination made an impact regardless of your take on foreign policies. So I’m grateful that we live in this great country, the United States of America, where we can openly discuss and vote for whomever we want without fear, regardless of skin color, sex and country of origin. Amen!

Maria Grazia Swan is the winner of a Women's National Book Association award whose matchmaking has brought together a number of happy couples. She's now the go-to source for many online and print relationship guides. She is the author of the recently released,
Boomer Babes-True Tales of Love and Lust in The Later Years ( Dorchester Publishing).

Visit her website: http://www.boomerbabesbook.com/