Every year families from
around the country gather and break bread to celebrate the Thanksgiving
holiday. Lately, it seems to me as if
this day has been pushed aside in favor of the all too commercialized and
overly materialistic Christmas season. As
I sat yesterday to pen this post, Judy told me how she saw people camped out in
front of the local Best Buy waiting to get first dibs on the next greatest
thing- consciously choosing to bypass this day of gratitude.
When the pilgrims landed on Plymouth
Colony way back in 1620, they had already endured many months of hardship
aboard the Mayflower with several losing their lives during the journey across
the Atlantic Ocean. I pondered what they
may have been grateful for on that very first meal they gave thanks:
1. The
journey to a new land was accomplished, affording them a new found freedom.
2. For
the Native Americans who showed them how to survive and live off of what Mother
Nature provided in the mostly untouched new region.
3. Expression
of thanks to their Creator for allowing all this to transpire.
Given all this, what can we do to bring
back the attitude of gratitude in Thanksgiving?
Sonja Lyubomirsky in her article How
to Practice Gratitude, offers several strategies in this regard:
Start a Gratitude Journal
·
Set aside a few minutes (varying the time
of day) to reflect and write.
·
Pick 3-5 ordinary things you are grateful
for (good day at work, the snow was plowed; the flat tire was changed, etc.).
·
Then pick 3-5 extraordinary things
(child’s first words, the first time you told someone you loved them or I do,
an awesome sunrise or sunset).
·
Do this at a frequency (daily, weekly,
monthly) that best speaks to you.
Vary Your Routine
·
When counting your blessings, vary when
and how you do it. Don’t make it a
routine-make it something special.
·
If you are not good at writing, take time
to sit and just contemplate what you are most grateful for.
·
Share with others a favorite restaurant,
park, or scenic drive, and re-live what they see/comment on as if it was your
very first time as well.
Give Thanks to Another
·
This can be done by phone, letter, email,
text, etc. However, it is more effective
and personal when thank you(s) are given face-to-face.
·
Thank them for something they did (in some
small way) to make your world brighter (2015).
These are just a few examples of how we
can re-focus the attention on the meaning of Thanksgiving not just on this day,
but every day of the year. An attitude
of gratitude can surely make this world a better place to live.
Happy
Thanksgiving,
Tim
References
How to Practice Gratitude
(2015). Gratefulness.org. Retrieved from http://www.gratefulness.org/resource/how-to-practice-gratitude/
on 11/25/2015.
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