By Cheryl Glover, New Thought Kabbalah

My Thanksgiving Message today is not about giving, not even about being thankful.  It is about looking at life differently, deeply and thoughtfully.  Actually, it is about Harry.  "Who's Harry?", you might ask. Harry is someone I grew up with. He was my Mother's best friend's son.  They raised us like cousins.

Harry was typical of a kid with a lot of brains but not a lot of social skills. He was always chunky, always knew more than anyone else, always telling jokes.  It was like being with Seinfeld, for real.  On the other hand, he was the most intelligent, the most fun to be around, the most enthusiastic about his future.  It was clear from the time he was five that his interests were in biology.  Therefore, it wasn't a far stretch to imagine that this Jewish boy from New York would one day be a Doctor.

For years after we drifted away I thought about Harry.  This was mostly curiosity because his parents did not mention him.  When one asked about Harry we were told, "Harry's just fine."  No details were given "just fine."  It was only this year that I found out about Harry.  While I was raising children, raising consciousness and living life to the fullest, Harry was struggling just to survive.  Yes, Harry was a Doctor.  But he was a Doctor with a drug addiction. A Doctor with so many problems that he could not live in a normal environment nor have a normal job. Harry so many years ago ruined his health by using drugs. Harry, was psychologically unstable for many years.  Harry, in comparison, had no life at all.  He was not financially successful.  He was not and could not be in a relationship for long. He had no children. He rarely went out around people. He quit his job young because he could not handle it.  Harry was in bad health because of the drugs. Life seemed to pass him by.  When I recently made a futile attempt to lead him to more spiritual ventures, I failed on that level also.

So, why am I sharing this?  Sometimes when we look at our lives we use filtered glasses.  We see average people with talents, gifts, joys, struggles, and problems.  We see people struggling with relationships, with finances, with health, with children, with life in general and with G-d.  What we do not see, is the road we did not take.  We do not compare it with the road that was forsaken.  The road Harry took, is the same road that many other Baby Boomer might have taken.  If I had taken the road of drugs, where would I be?  And would there be people out there that would be compassionate to me when I struggle back into Life?  Harry is my other road.  He is a reminder of what I could have done instead.  He is a reminder of the pain that is unbearable to some of us. He is a reminder of how many people need to heal this pain.  Furthermore, he is also a reminder of people in pain who do not want help.  Harry is my icon.  An icon that continues to remind me to live life to the fullest, to heal the pain and move on, to be compassionate and not judge others, to leave a legacy on this world, to be grateful for what I AM and that I AM and to commit to make a difference in the world.

LOVE & LIGHT TO ALL OF YOU,  Cheryl