by Karen Frazier, Managing Editor
Paranormal Underground Magazine

I suppose with Thanksgiving in the air, a blog on what I am thankful for is in order. I know – how cliche.

It’s been an interesting year for me. Much of it has been full of difficult lessons. A year ago I was employed. Now I am not, nor have I been since February. Unemployed, however, doesn’t mean uninvolved. I’ve worked my butt off in the past year – there’s just been very little or no money involved in the equation.

When I first lost my job, I was upset. My ego was wounded and I was afraid. Underneath it all, however, there was something else. There was some excitement that I could pursue other avenues instead of being a beaten down cog in just another messed up company in corporate America.

I have pursued those avenues with passion and joy from that moment forward. Financially, the rewards have been minimal. Negligible, really. The other rewards have been tremendous, however. I have done what I love. I have learned. I have grown by leaps and bounds. It is as if I have been set free.

Here I am – a year later – a Thanksgiving later. Even without a job, life has gone on, and I have lived a life that was so much more than I could have expected it would be at this time last year. Certainly our financial circumstances have been greatly reduced. The loss of one income will do that to you. I’m okay with that though – because we are still here, we are still happy, and my family is still healthy. No job loss could change any of that unless I let it.

Financial circumstances aside, it has been a year of learning for me. I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve learned what is truly important to me, and it isn’t money or nice things. Those things come and go. Instead what I’ve discovered is that I have so much alive inside of me that wants to come out. I’ve rediscovered the joy of creation for the sake of creation. I’ve learned to honor my own internal compass. I’ve learned who my friends are. I’ve learned to make the decision that is, for me, the most peaceful one.

Things happen in life that feel horrible. Losing a job is one of those things. Losing a friend or a loved one is another. And yet it is in these very circumstances that, if we choose to look deeply enough, we can find ourselves. This is where I am. Stuff happens. All sorts of it. Much of it is stuff that we consider to be “bad” or that we don’t like very much. I think that’s okay. It’s not the stuff that happens. It’s what you do with it.

Yeah – yeah – lemons, lemonade. Here’s what I’ve learned, and it is what I am thankful for this year. Stuff is going to happen. A lot of it. Some of it we bring about on our own. Some of it we don’t. As it happens, we have two choices. We can fight it kicking and screaming, or we can choose peace. Peace doesn’t mean giving in. It means being peaceful with the decisions that you make.

In the end, that is what makes me thankful. That I have learned this. I can be peaceful – and even joyful – in the face of adversity, because the circumstances of my life don’t define who I am. Only I can do that.

Enjoy reading Karen’s blog? Her new book, Avalanche of Spirits: The Ghosts of Wellington> is now available. Click here to buy.