It’s November and in the Unites States we celebrate Thanksgiving.  It is a time, aside from large Turkey dinners, football and black Friday shopping, that we can attune to what we are thankful for.  This is also a practice that will help develop the mental reframing we sometimes need to silence the inner-critic and step into feelings of openness and abundance. Maybe I’ve lost you at this point because that sentence sounded way too hippy-dippy, but stay with me.  In my experience, even the worst moments have a silver lining, a surprising element or positive outcome. 

When I went through my breast cancer treatment at 27, I was overcome by how many people showed up for me in my life to offer support. I realized how vast our network really is and how powerful and healing a sense of community is in getting through the tricky times of life.  Moving to Sweden and having my marriage end this year was beyond devastating, and yet again, it opened the doors to meeting wonderful new friends and pursuing new creative opportunities.  Even the most difficult situations allow us to question:  “What if this is happening FOR me, rather than TO me?” What lesson is there to be learned from this experience?  Usually the answer is that it helps us to evolve and reclaim parts of us that may have needed to grow and expand. 

Dr. Joe Dispenza writes in You are the Placebo, that “Emotions like gratitude and appreciation open your heart and lift your energy in your body to a new place.” So, in November, I encourage you to take on a gratitude practice (especially on the toughest days!). It simply means reflecting on who or what are you thankful for in your life in this moment. Take a minute or two in the morning and evening to acknowledge this for yourself. 

This practice will lead to creating an ease in reframing the thoughts you might have in the tricky moments; yes, this frustrating ‘fill-in-the-blank-moment’ is happening, but I can look at it in this way. It takes practice, but, as Dr. Dispenza beautifully proses, “It takes us from survival to creation; from separation to connection; from imbalance to balance; from emergency mode to growth-and-repair mode; and from the limiting emotions of fear, anger, and sadness to the expansive emotions of joy, freedom, and love.” I assure you that those feelings of thankfulness and expansiveness is where you create the life you want.  

I am thankful for you! In my gratitude I offer you this Thanksgiving-inspired recipe, full of carotenoid antioxidants and based on one of the most nutrient-dense vegetables—the Sweet Potato; they are higher in sugar than potatoes but actually help to stabilize blood sugar levels and improve the response to the insulin hormone. Enjoy!

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This is a guest post. Any opinions expressed are the writer’s own.