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Health & Fitness

Angels at Risk: Treasure Chest of Wishes, Happy Holy Days

The holidays are like a prism casting all the colors of the rainbow everywhere in a roller coaster kind of way.

Holy- “Having a spiritually pure quality” (dictionary.com) Holy, being a time of grace and love.

Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Years all packed into 5 weeks, all focusing on celebrations of our spirits and souls, all in the time of winter.

Of all the seasons, winter has a most unique beauty unto itself.  One thing for sure, within that beauty lays a bittersweet treasure chest of high emotions, wishes, presents, disappointments and joy.

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It is for sure a time of love, a time of crisis of our hearts. The holidays are like a prism that is spinning in the air in accordance with the wind, casting all the colors of the rainbow everywhere in a roller coaster kind of way, making it hard for people to keep track of their feelings that fall everywhere between loneliness and joy.  People can get in trouble.

According to Partnership for Drug-Free America, Stratyner said, “During the holidays, people are particularly vulnerable to drinking in excess and others are willing to look the other way to keep the atmosphere festive.”

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According to CADY, “a new Teens Today study from SADD and Liberty Mutual Group, nearly half of high school teens (45%) say their parents allow them to drink at home, including almost one in three who say they are allowed to do so to mark special occasions, such as holidays.”

“In fact, hospital emergency department visits involving underage drinking increased more than 250% on New Year’s Day in 2009 compared to other days”, as indicated by the Heath Alliance on Alcohol.

The fundamental constitution of Angels at Risk always is relationships with families.  All of our families however it might be, whether we have a picture perfect family or no family at all.  Whether we are an orphan or whether we have extended families, inevitably it is always the center of attention, the double edged sword, the meeting point, and the focus.

Family is where we feel love and find disappointment all always at the same time. It’s where we have to survive our challenges and where we have to find the treasures to endure.

A treasure chest is “a chest filled with valuables” (dictionary.com). A place where children find all of their wishes and dreams buried in magic. It’s in the moments of magic that a child believes that all things are possible.

The thing is, the most magical treasure chest for all of us, the most powerful gift and present to find, the thing that binds us together always, is the sweetness discovered and illuminated in thanks.

With gratitude life is softer. The power of gratitude, the grace of gratitude and the most profound part of gratitude is that it is the great protector. It promises everyone that they can survive. It promises survival for us all.

The gift that hides behind the face of gratitude is humility, and with humility and gratitude, with an open heart, you can find greatness in everything. You can find the holiest and greatest treasure and wish of all…love.

Happy Holy Days.

By Susie Spain, Founder

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