Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is an interesting day.

Some people like to focus on the historical and politicall ramifications. Others enjoy a break from their daily schedules to go hunting or legally play hooky from class. Football, turkey, and candied yams take center stage right before a prolonged nap from an imagined tryptophan overindulgence. (PS... turkey doesn't really make you sleepy).

Whatever your perspective is regarding November's final Thursday, looking back and taking some time to reflect on what you are thankful for is a very cathartic exercise that is good for the soul. It reminds us that life is fluid and even if times are difficult, there is no reason to believe that things can't improve. It's easy to focus on the negative, and at times life genuinely feels overwhelming. Like we can't keep up.

But stop. Take a breath.

Rekindle those thoughts and think back to something good that has happened. Appreciate that beauty of the moment in the midst of the chaos. Remember what it was like to smile and then recall while you smiled in the first place. I'm not asking you to dabble in some psychoanalytical exercise or jump through some psychological hoop. I am not painting the world with rose-colored glasses. I know there is pain and madness and adult on-set diabetes and the New York Yankees...

There is also charity and redemption. Sunlight and snowmen. For at least one day a year let us call to mind the things and people that warm our spirits and induce butterflies in our stomachs. Make a concerted effort to be thankful for what has happened in your life and also in the difference you have made in the lives of others. We can go back to being cynics on Friday.