For those of us in the U.S., Thanksgiving is this Thursday, November 22. Thanksgiving is a day to celebrate with friends and family and to give thanks for the things that bring you comfort and joy. Here are some of the things our ACHS staff is thankful for. We invite you to post a comment and express the things you are thankful for, too!
Dorene Petersen
"As President and Founder of ACHS, I am enormously grateful to be living in this wonderful country, the United States, where Thanksgiving is a national holiday, and we can spend a day with friends and family focusing on all the things in our lives that we are grateful for. I endeavor to practice what I call 'grateful therapy' every evening when I lay my head down on the pillow, but to have an entire day when there is collective gratefulness being practiced across the nation is truly a wonderful American tradition that I hope helps to bring about nationwide healing. I am grateful for all our wonderful ACHS students and graduates who carry the message of holistic health out to the world. I am also very grateful for our wonderful ACHS staff and faculty, wonderful husband, my two fantastic daughters (who work here at ACHS right alongide me), my sweet grandaughters and last but not least, I am grateful for the wonderful planet we live on that gives us the bountiful raw natural holistic health materials that we learn about every day.
Erika Yigzaw
"Wow. I have a lot to be thankful for! I'm thankful for my amazing daughter, who reminds me every day to look for fairies; for my husband, sister, mum, niece, and the rest of my blended family (which includes my awesome team members at ACHS who are like family!); for the ability to laugh at the craziness without going crazy; for being able to enjoy the little things; for my amazing friends both new and old - whether you have been in my life for 40 years or a few days; for my lavender, my bees, my horses, my chickens, my dogs, my cat, and all the other critters that make Sherwood Lavender Farm home - which remind me that the sun will come up tomorrow, or it will rain, but either way nature will find a way! And I'm thankful that I'm still able to be thankful and haven't become jaded to the blessings that come into my life, whether they are in my life for just a moment or stick around for a bit longer."
Heather Baley
"I'm thankful that my friends and family are in good health. I'm thankful for the wonderful coworkers and students I work with every day. I'm thankful that I have a warm place to sleep at night and food on my plate."
Tracey Abell
"I am thankful to have the love and support of my family, my health, and the opportunity to give back to the community on a daily basis through my work at ACHS."
Amy Swinehart
“I am thankful for my family and friends who surround and support me! I am thankful for my health, being a part of ACHS, the beautiful city I live in, and for the amazing, adventurous life that I have lived thus far and will continue to make for myself!”
Joel Strimling
"I am thankful for my family, and my friends who I include as family. I am thankful for all I've been able to do and accomplish. I am thankful for feeling and living the spirit of Aloha."
Lauren Shapiro
“Thanksgiving is such a warm, tender holiday, which makes it one of my favorites (not to mention the yummy eats!). And though I wish ALL my family members (those given and those chosen), could be together to share a meal at one great table and to celebrate our blessings, I am thankful for the love every one of them brings into my life. Thank you, family, for your care and conversation, for the memories … and all the memories to come!”
DW Wood
"I am thankful for the abundance that colors my world… from the painted sunrise along the Willamette River to the flushed laughter with family and friends. I am thankful for all that enlightens, enriches, and envisions a future filled to the brim. For all that was, is, and will be, I am truly grateful."
Suzanne Kent
“I am thankful for my wonderful 10-year-old daughter who brings me so much happiness and continues to amaze me more and more each day. I am thankful for my immediate and extended family, and grateful we are all healthy. I am thankful that my husband has found a job he is very happy with, after being laid off twice in the last five years. I am thankful that I do not have any more travel plans for as far out as my calendar goes right now. Every day, I am thankful for the job I have, and the ACHS community to which I am a part of.”
Brooke Pillsbury
"I am thankful for my family and friends, to have a lovely home in a city that I love, and to work in a field that I am proud of with people who inspire me daily."
Tanja Kaneshiro
“I am grateful for my friends, family, and cats. Waking up each day in the great NW and admiring nature. I am grateful for my purpose and being challenged daily. Oh, and fabulous coffee.”
Jared Schaalje
“I am thankful for herbal medicine, clinical research, and wonderful family and friends! I am also thankful for Thanksgiving snowstorms, where big snowflakes coat pine trees and turn the whole world a beautiful shining white!”
Heidi Ervin
"I'm thankful for those little moments when you realize how sweet life is. Like a small break of sun in the rainclouds, chirping birds in a flowering tree, or a friendly gesture from a complete stranger. Even when I'm having a bad day, little things like this make me thankful to be alive! Happy Thanksgiving!"
Amanda Heller
“I am so thankful for my health, my home, and my amazing friends. I am thankful for this crazy path I have followed that has led me to this perfect place in my life!”
What are you thankful for? Leave a comment! And ... Happy Thanksgiving!