When I was a little girl, my mother taught me the “4 BE’s:” BE positive, BE true, BE smart, and BE grateful.  For the month of November, I wish to focus on these virtues of health and happiness.

At my house, November 1st marks the beginning of the holiday season.  Overnight I am practically bursting with Christmas enthusiasm- party planning, Christmas shopping, twinkly lights, catching up with friends and family, the whole works!  I know I’m not alone- no one can deny their inner childlike anticipation for the holidays that are finally approaching.

However, for many of us, the first week of November also brings feelings of dread and stress, as we calculate costs, decorate our homes, and anticipate uncomfortable family interactions.  The introduction of the holiday season weighs especially heavy on individuals coping with the bitterness of life’s challenges and trials.  Hence, the season of peace, love, and joy, can become a burden and a time of great anxiety.

This week, I wish to discuss the most challenging and the most magical “BE:” Be Positive.  There is a famous poem that says, “Forever—is composed of Nows.” Rather than gritting your teeth, closing your eyes, and resentfully enduring the holidays to their bitter end, I urge you to live joyfully now.

The happiest people recognize that love- the constant, never-failing quality that has the power to lift us above the evil, the conflict, and the trouble of the world in which we live- is the reason for the holiday season.  A positive attitude, full of hope and love, is the key ingredient for a lifetime of health and happiness.  Being positive will magically transform your countenance, empowering you to be a light and beacon of hope for others.  Despite, the tiresome and even hectic pace of the holiday season, I urge you to be positive.

As a wise man once said, “Go forward

[this holiday season] with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, but with great purpose of heart.”

Everyone needs a good sweet potato recipe for Thanksgiving.  Most of us think of the traditional, decadent sweet potato casserole traditionally served during the holidays.  In the past few years, I’ve been preparing a lighter, to-die-for alternative, Orange Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Cranberries.  I hope you enjoy!