Thanksgiving is a time to take a closer look at the things in our lives that we can be grateful for. Now, this does not mean that we should set aside political activism, or that we should stop trying to better ourselves. It just means that we should pause to take stock of our blessings.

We all know of certain kinds of people who never seem to be content. If I just had this, or had that, or lived somewhere else, they say, wow! - their lives would finally be complete and they would find happiness. People who think this way sometimes have a very shallow concept of what happiness is. Happiness is not really something “out there” that we can acquire for ourselves if we try hard enough. Happiness is not necessarily about “getting things.” Being thankful for one's friends, or for the ability to help others in need - these examples of happiness are truly priceless. Many spiritual paths have taught us throughout history that happiness is a state of mind and a way of looking at the world.

One crucial component of happiness is the ability to be able to count our blessings and be thankful for what we have, instead of dwelling on the many things that we think we should have, but don't. And, seriously, doesn't everyone have the potential to produce an endless list of “don't haves,” if we want to dwell on them? What a waste of time that is.

Here's my holiday message: Let's decide that we will never empower people to poison our world by robbing us of our happiness and gratitude.

Lisa Backus

Auburn