Thankfulness
I dedicate this entry to Thanksgiving day and my hope to make every day Thanksgiving day.
What does it mean to be thankful and how do we do it?
It's well established that being thankful is a decision we make. We can decide to be thankful or not in any circumstance. The decision is easy to do...and easy not to do. The act of being thankful when we don't feel thankful may be a little more challenging. When faced with emergencies, disaster and illness, our first impulse may not be gratitude. I know I'm not breaking new ground here. In fact philosophers and other smart people have made this point many times. Our own Trish Kirby posted about it on 5/31/11. She said, "...some days it's the hardest choice I make". Me too Trish.
Being thankful make is much easier to be happy with who we are, where we are and what we are. Happiness and thankfulness are so intertwined I'm not sure you can have one without the other. There are also positive health effects but that's another post.
What am I thankful for?
I try to be thankful for everything!!! I start with the basics - my wonderful family, the air I breathe, the food I eat, lodging, warmth, clothing, love, health and happiness. It's a little harder to be thankful for things we think we don't want, difficulties and unfortunate events. They happen to all of us. As we all know, the question is how we respond. Do we look for the lesson, the "silver lining", and give thanks...or do we allow ourselves to permanently wallow in self pity?
Something I once read stuck with me. The idea was that we tend to focus our gratitude on transient things rather than things that have permanence. For example, it's easy to be grateful for the new car, the new job and my health for example - the things of this mortal coil. It's less instinctual to be thankful for things that really endure like love, hope, joy, peace and forgiveness. That's not to say we shouldn't be grateful for blessings and abundance that comes our way. We absolutely should. It's more about why we're grateful. When our income increases, are we only grateful because we can now afford more "stuff" or are we also grateful for the opportunity to help someone in need. When I think of people in need I don't just think of those who are poor financially. People have needs in all areas of life. Some need our help emotionally or other ways. Whether it's a child who needs help practicing the piano or someone who's been ill and can't do certain tasks like cutting their grass or shoveling snow. I believe this is another slight edge opportunity. Emerson said, "It is one of the most beautiful compensations in life...we can never help another without helping ourselves."
After a significant health scare last year I find it much easier to be thankful. Once you face the prospect of losing your health and way of life, the reflex to be thankful is much more activated. Every morning I sit up in bed and spend a little time thanking God for another day and all it contains. Every day is Thanksgiving day.
Happy Thanksgiving to all, today and every day!
