I’m learning to give myself permission to feel the feelings that arise and not to judge. I've also learned to offer these moments up and allow my Inner Wisdom or higher power to take over. This is the best treat of all. Remembering that I am not in this alone makes everything so much more light and airy. It's time to sit, breathe, and be thankful I have a job to be anxious over.

When feeding our minds positive affirmations the programming in our minds changes. Professional athletes and business people have used the technique of affirmations for years to increase their performance and success.

The 21-Day Gratitude Challenge was a joy to participate in. I don’t want to wait until 2018 to do it again. We should start a movement to roll right into another 21 days, and just keep it going over and over and over. Wouldn’t it be lovely for everyone who posts on social media, to first post what they are grateful for before posting anything else? There’s an idea.

Admittedly, posting daily will be the biggest challenge of my 21 Days of Gratitude. Making daily notes and transferring them to a weekly post seems to work best for me. Have you decided to make a list? If so, how is your list coming along?

How do you practice gratitude? Do you keep a journal or a daily ritual of thanks? Have you begun to keep one for this year? Even thinking of one thing you are grateful for as you move throughout the day is enough to shift your mood into a happier space.

Practice trusting and being led to only that which needs to be done today and allow yourself to go through each day with little surprises around each corner.

The pangs of waking up to bright lights creeping underneath the crack of my door as they light the way to the bathroom for me churn deep in my gut. This morning I will not breathe the stale hotel room air and bend to pick up the newspaper that’s been slipped through the crack of the door at an ungodly hour by a no doubt too-tired hotel worker. It almost all makes me wish I was not home. This morning, there is no newspaper.

As you move through your holiday season, honoring your celebrations with friends and family, I wish for you peace, love, perfect health, inner calm in its simplest of forms, and the ability to see the silver lining in all that life places before you. You owe yourself that much.

Together we have to ask ourselves as parents and teachers, and those who are influencing young people: What are we doing to send a message of calm? How can we send the message to students: All will be well?

There's beauty in coming through one of life’s most trying challenges. Everything is beautiful. The rain. The snow. The heat. The cold. Crotchety people. Screaming children. Bad drivers. Long lines at the store. Wifi that’s down. Flat tires. WHO CARES?! I’m happy I’m alive to be able to experience it all.