I have to confess that during the month of December I have watched a lot of television. That’s because  I have an addiction to Holiday Specials, quite simply, they make me feel good. But the hidden surprise comes with a word or phrase that makes me stop to think about life. This year two thoughts are still resonating deep inside me.

The first quote was from the 2004 movie “The Polar Bear Express”. Tom Hanks, as the Conductor, was encouraging a young lad to get aboard a train traveling to the North Pole to see if there really was a Santa.

“The thing about trains … it doesn’t matter where they’re going … what matters is deciding to get on.”

Since I love to travel by train, the metaphor certainly caught my attention! I recalled the trains I had decided to get on in life and then thought about the ones that I wished I had the courage to jump on. Do we really need to know the exact route of a journey? Waiting for that perfect train (life/journey/partner/career) just keeps me stationary; hanging around a station that no longer serves me.

So what would it take to actually get on the next train? Thinking about the ‘what’s next train’ has kept me up on more than one night of late. And then I watched the 1954 holiday classic “White Christmas”. Even after watching this movie over 20 times, this year I was moved when Bing Crosby sang “Count Your Blessings”.

“When I’m worried and I can’t sleep
I count my blessings instead of sheep and I fall asleep counting my blessings
When my bankroll is getting small I think of when I had none at all
And I fall asleep counting my blessings.”

This simple song put things into perspective for me. Yes I am blessed. I get to choose what ‘life train’ to jump on and I am grateful that my health still allows me to make many robust choices. Being surrounded by the love of family and the energy of good friends are also blessings. Listening to the lyrics of this season has reminded me to continue being grateful and to jump onto a few more ‘trains’ next year.

Blessings to everyone this season!

Reposted from December 2012.