I have been blessed.

I have parents who didn't just say the words - they made me believe that I was special - not better - but special. That I could do anything if I was just willing to believe.

There is a wonderful excerpt from one of Lewis Carrol's famous children's stories: "I can't believe that!" said Alice.

"Can't you?" the queen said in a pitying tone. "Try again, draw a long breath, and shut your eyes."

Alice laughed. "There's no use trying," she said. "One can't believe impossible things."

"I dare say you haven't had much practice," said the queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

Having the faith to believe and the grace to show gratitude may be all that is needed to live a lifetime of abundant blessings.

Gratitude is miraculously infectious. The more you think about it the grander it becomes. The more you recognize the things you are thankful for the more thankful you become for the things you have.

I have been blessed to be a mother, a daughter, a nurse, a sister, a friend, and so much more.

I have lived a fairly uneventful life by some people's standards. I have yet to travel to Europe or Asia or Australia. But I have an abundance of great memories of packing a tent, cooler, food and clothing three kids and myself into a Honda civic and setting off to explore.

I will never likely run for office or make the headlines of your daily newspaper. But I have had the absolute honour of sitting at the bedside and holding the hand of a dying patient.

A Ph.D. is not something I am likely to earn but watching my children become amazing, talented, caring adults is worth more to me, than any academic accolades could ever offer.

Although it is true that as a nurse I have had innumerable opportunities to see persons in pain, sick and suffering. I have also had the amazing blessing to assist in a great number of births.

There is no experience I know of, that comes close to matching holding a newborn as they take their first breath. To be allowed into such intimate moments as being the one to offer them up to their parents for their first look.

I can with all honesty say that I never assisted in a single birth that I was not keenly aware of the fact that I was experiencing a miracle. Even if there had been three babies born and it was the end of a very long 12-hour shift, the novelty and sense of awe never left me.

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When I was young my sister and I fought like cats and dogs. We argued over borrowed clothes, whose turn it was to do dish, or walk the dog. But today I feel so blessed to have a relationship with her that is one of my most cherished treasures.

Blessings also come in the form of dear friends. Some that come into our lives for brief periods and some that are long lasting relationships, but all are precious and contribute to who we are.

There are times in everyone's lives that things do not go the way we want them to. We all have had disappointments. Times of disillusionment. We can choose to focus on that. But I believe that what we focus on and the emotional energy we give it is what we get more of.

So I would ask each of you to take time to notice the opportunities to believe in the impossible and to show gratitude for the miracles that appear everyday. I try to appreciate all of those things that sometimes we all overlook. It could be a scent --perhaps of freshly baked bread, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or the fact that we can sit in a warm cozy house and watch the snow fall on a cold winter day. Please, look for these things, and cherish them. For, although it may sound corny to some, these things are the "stuff" of life. The little things we are put here on earth to enjoy. The things we often take for granted.

Imagine if we were all able to change our focus daily from what we don't want, to being thankful for what we have and to the blessings that surround us believing that anything we do want is only a belief away. Think of the potential.