Being Thankful

Flowers for Thanksgiving
acrylic on canvas
8 x 8 inches
Barbara Muir © 2009

I feel sorry for the author Barbara Ehrenreich who was interviewed in
today's Globe and Mail about her views on optimism. She thinks the push
for being positive leads to an unbalanced world. In fact she blames
the positive thinking movement for everything including the stock
market crash. I'm well aware that trying to look on the bright side
can rub people the wrong way. They think you're happy because
you're flaky, or in denial, or don't care about the world's problems.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. Some of the bravest people I know smile
as much as possible, despite terrible hardships -- disease,
loss of work, money worries, breakups. This doesn't mean
they don't cry too, or suffer, or that they pretend to be happy
just to be accepted in the world. They believe, and rightly so, that if
they can try to be happy for a few moments a day in the face of
adversity, they may feel better, and that if they feel better it will help
the people around them who are suffering too.

Canadian Thanksgiving is about gratitude for a plentiful
harvest. I like it because it's about food and sharing, not
a specific religion, so everyone can celebrate it. The day
provides an occasion for reflection on what we have to be
thankful for. I owe all my happiness to the people in my
life who have taught me to sing and dance even when life
is hard, and to hold onto the bright light of friendship
and creativity. I'm over the top grateful for
a simply wonderful year. I've met so many fabulous
artists, and learned things about painting that I couldn't have
imagined a year ago. On top of that I am blessed with kind
friends, a happy home, a loving husband, and great kids.

Working on being more positive is not the opposite of
thought. Being happy, I've realized, takes infinite courage.
Spreading happiness is a perfectly laudable goal from my
point of view, and makes life more enjoyable, and suffering
less painful. I know because my blog friends lift my spirits
every day.

My painting today is of the strangely exotic flowers I bought
from PegAn at the market today. It's getting cold, so
garden flowers are becoming scarce. I have never grown, or
purchased many of the flowers in today's bouquet. But I turned
a spotlight on the flowers and painted them against the
dark backdrop. They look like the expensive crewel work
shawl my friend couldn't afford to buy this week.

Have a great Canadian Thanksgiving