Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude. With the recent hurricanes, it is easy to look at your life and be grateful for your home, possessions and security. When you get together with family members at the holidays, it’s often tough to feel grateful around certain people. Your relatives are probably less than perfect and you most like slip into “old patterns” and behave imperfectly too. How can you feel thankful when you’re faced with issues that seem impossible to heal?

Even if you’re disgruntled with yourself or another, it’s important to acknowledge your emotions as “angels” that have come to reveal the state of your spirituality. It’s effortless to feel serene with people who affirm your positive traits, yet it’s possible to stagnate if you’re never challenged. It’s the people who “push your buttons” who spur you toward further growth. So truly embrace your “yucky feelings” and appreciate the spiritual motivation those feelings provide. This line of thinking helps to get your focus off the person/people and on to the opportunity for healing.

Being grateful in a moment of irritation, frustration or crisis will also open your mind to the higher wisdom that is at work in your life. The Universe brought you these opportunities because you earned the chance to heal at a deeper level than ever before. There is no failure on the spiritual path and no “regression.” It might seem like you’re in the same place you were last holiday season, but you’re now actually healing on a more profound level. You have progressed to being capable enough to handle this challenge.

When you can perform bicep curls with five pound weights, your personal trainer gives you ten pound weights. This is a mark of your progress and commitment. You make the same motion, but with more resistance, then you get stronger. The same principle is at work with your family issues. You’re being “tested” because of your strength, not because of your weakness.

When your emotional grip on your problem is loosened, you’ll be open to new perspectives and new solutions. Releasing guilt, shame and anger allows the healing energy you desire to flow into your life.

Another factor of gratitude is remembering that if you’re in the centered place within yourself knowing your situation is a divine blessing, it won’t matter how the other person behaves. You’ll be free to let them create their own experience, have their own opinions and emotions. You don’t have to rescue them. You don’t have to convince them they’re wrong. You can observe how their limitations and “old tapes” help them feel comfortable in a strange way. Let them have their comfort zone. You’ve already forgiven yourself for your own automatic emotions and moved beyond them with the power of gratitude. Now you can consciously choose how to interact with a challenging person.

You can stick around and observe their emotional chaos from a state of inner peace. You can remove yourself from the situation and go for a walk. Other people’s “stuff” can wear you down after awhile, no matter how spiritual you are. Make sure you give yourself time for “mini spiritual tune-ups.” Get some alone time, even if it’s in the restroom for five minutes. Take a few deep breaths and thank the Universe once again. Ask to have your mind and heart remain open to the messages that are available to you.

Above all, please remember that your mindset of meditation and higher love will bless everyone around you, whether you see the results of your positive thoughts or not. Trust that your grateful heart is radiating outward and that your family members are on their own divine path of healing and soul growth.

Aluna Michaels is a second-generation astrologer and soul evolutionist practitioner. She also holds a Masters in Spiritual Counseling and has been teaching and consulting for more than two decades. Aluna is available for appointments in her home or by phone. Call (248) 583-1663 or visit www.ascension.net/aluna.