Be grateful every day
As Thanksgiving is approaching, it is easy to take this one day and reflect upon all that we have. But, shouldn’t we celebrate giving thanks, each and every day of the year? The answer is yes. We should try to spend some time each day reflecting on all the blessings we enjoy.
Let’s learn to live with a spirit of gratitude every day.
Our daily news is filled with well….bad news – Ebola scares, ISIS, school shootings, the new Cold War, identity theft, child abuse, poverty, hunger, hatred, and violence. In reality, these are a very small percentage of what happens in our world every day.
But how do you move from this negative perceived “reality” of life to a spirit of peacefulness and gratitude? You do so by changing your mindset from the negative to the positive and reflecting on the glass being half-full instead of half-empty. Just for today, reflect on the love and gratitude that you experience year round – while you do the laundry, drive the kids to school or attend your children’s sporting events. Contemplate while you grill a few burgers, patch up a boo-boo with a band aid, have a drink with friends, steal a kiss, say a prayer or wipe away some tears.
We have a chance every day to express gratitude and receive the love from those who are closest to us. You do not have to wait for this one day every year to practice Thanksgiving. Instead, let’s practice a daily attitude of gratitude. This philosophy has been passed down through the ages. Here is some great advice:
Gratitude is a constant attitude of thankfulness and appreciation for life as it unfolds. Living in the moment, we are open to the abundance around us and within us. We express appreciation freely. We contemplate the richness of our life. In life’s trials we seek to understand, to accept, to learn. – Unknown
In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received , but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy – Henri J.M. Noreen
Oh Lord that lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness. – William Shakespeare
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them. – John F. Kennedy
Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don’t unravel. – Anonymous
You may have heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. There’s another day you might want to know about- Giving Tuesday. The idea is pretty straightforward. On the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, shoppers take a break from their gift-buying and donate what they can to charity. – Bill Gates
The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest. – William Blake
Thank God, every day when you get up that you have something to do that day which must be done whether you like it or not. Being forced to work and forced to do your best will breed in you temperance and self-control, diligence and strength of will, cheerfulness and contentment, and a hundred virtues which the idle will never know. – Basil Carpenter
Pride slays Thanksgiving, but a humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow. A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves. – Henry Ward Beecher
I give thanks to my creator for this wonderful life where each of us has the opportunity to learn lessons we could not fully comprehend by any other means. – Joseph B. Wirthlin
Thanks for following my blog and I hope blessings abound for you this holiday season. Get inspired by this excellent advice and develop an attitude of gratitude. Then you can make every day a Thanksgiving day. If you do so, you will be happier and healthier.
Linda Cook
