THE IMPORTANCE OF GRATITUDE
It's the holiday season, and almost Thanksgiving...so naturally the idea of being grateful, and what we should be grateful about, enters our minds.  Here's an interesting take on gratitude and why it's important:
"...there is a very real connection between feeling grateful and feeling a sense of purpose in life. The individual who believes that his or her existence has real meaning has the raw material for gratitude built-in. That conviction allows each day to be seen as the next page in a truly miraculous story. In this context, even adversity can be put into context: We can be grateful for the ability to summon courage or persistence or empathy, despite very trying circumstances.  It is also important to note that gratitude is one of those emotions we don't necessarily feel unless we think about it--sort of like the act of breathing. Until we focus on it, it lacks intention. But gratitude will become palpable if we think of what is not wrong in our lives that could be--that we have a roof over our heads (if we are lucky enough to), that our spouses are healthy (if that is the case), that our children are happy (if that is the case). I have a favorite saying I share with people who give me bad news that doesn't seem to cut me to the core: "You're not a pediatrician." I then explain that, once you've had a child (and I am grateful to have two), that only a pediatrician (with, God-forbid, bad news) could really shatter your existence."

Read the whole thing.  And note that the author talks about how, when most humans laugh, it changes their whole face, with a big smile, bright eyes...and, of course, that takes us to the fact that those of us with Moebius Syndrome CAN'T smile.  So why should we be grateful?

But what's interesting to me is that pretty much everyone with Moebius whom I know IS grateful.  As the author went on to say, and is true for us too, we feel empathy, we feel gratitude, we have the freedom to do so.  We all have productive lives and we make a real impact.  We wouldn't give up our lives for anything.  So we give thanks, too.  And we should.

SLEEP STUFF
Do any of you have trouble sleeping?  Here's a tip:  control the light...:
"You cannot make yourself sleep and you should not try. The harder you “work” at trying to sleep, the more elusive those sweet dreams become. What you can do is try to relax.  Now, everyone knows that sleep specialists recommend removing the TV and computer from the bedroom because these things stimulate the mind and keep people from sleeping.  But we give this advice not only because it will help relax their minds but because it will also help relax their brains.  When you are watching TV at night or using the computer or walking around your house with all the lights on, you are stimulating that part of the brain that controls your sleep/wake cycle.  Light is the single strongest cue that tells your brain it is time to get up and feed the chickens — not what you want at 2 in the morning.  Because people don’t know what a powerful stimulant light is, then they don’t realize that most of the things they do late at night when they can’t sleep, like watching TV, using the computer, or reading with a bright light, all these things just keep them up later because light turns on the brain."