So you might look at this and say to yourself, “What? Are you kidding me? In this crazy year of 2020? No way!” My answer and challenge to you is simply, “Think again”.
Yes, it has been an incredibly difficult year for all of us. But there is still much to be thankful and grateful for. OK, maybe “financial prosperity” is not right at the top of the list for 2020. Perhaps that one has to wait for 2021 – time will tell.
However, I still propose to you that there are many other things for which to be thankful. Here is the challenge: Sit down in a quiet place and list as least as many things to be thankful or grateful for as you are years old. For example, if you are 50 years old your list should contain at least 50 items. Got it?
Here are a few simple things from my list (in no order of importance) to get you started: Family, electricity, indoor toilets, a warm coat, a warm and dry home, food.
In some of the reading I’ve done over the past few days, I’ve found these thoughts and insights. I hope you find them encouraging. (MG)
We cannot give thanks and complain at the same time. To give thanks is to remember the spiritual and material blessings we have received and to be content with what our loving Lord provides, even when it does not correspond to what we had in mind. Gratitude is a choice, not merely a feeling, and it requires effort especially in difficult times. But the more we choose to live in the discipline of conscious thanksgiving, the more natural it becomes, and the more our eyes are opened to the little things throughout the course of the day that we previously overlooked. Ken Boa
Research shows that when we count three blessings a day, we get a measurable boost in happiness that uplifts and energizes us. It’s also physiologically impossible to be stressed and thankful at the same time. Two thoughts cannot occupy our mind at the same time. If you are focusing on gratitude, you can’t be negative. You can also energize and engage your coworkers by letting them know you are grateful for them and their work. Every day we have a choice. We can choose to be grateful and see the good in all that we have or we can let anger, fear, doubt, and insecurities rob us of our joy and the life we’re meant to live. The choice is yours today. Jon Gordon
Thankfulness is a strong anti-depressant. Sometimes simply stating your gratitude out loud – even just two or three things you’re grateful for, no matter how small – can change your mood for the rest of the day. Chris Tiegreen
Thanksgiving provides more than the chance to celebrate with family and friends. I believe Thanksgiving offers hope. The first hope of Thanksgiving is thankful living. The spirit of thankfulness should not be confined to a holiday or an occasion, but a perpetual way to going through life. The adage is true: gratefulness creates a great fullness of heart. When we wake up each morning we have that new opportunity of life to be grateful for. The second hope of Thanksgiving is a life of giving. Whoever is blessed can be a blessing to others. Thanksgiving reminds us to give and provide to others who don’t have as much to be thankful for. Philanthropy and charity should be an essential Thanksgiving theme. The third hope of Thanksgiving is awareness. We can all be more consciously thankful for our blessings and not take them for granted. It is easy to miss what you’ve got if you are continually striving for what you want. Counting blessings enables us to enjoy them more deeply. Mark Sanborn
“But Thanksgiving is more than eating, Chuck. You heard what Linus was saying out there. Those pilgrims were thankful for what had happened to them, and we should be thankful, too. We should just be thankful for being together. I think that’s what they mean by Thanksgiving, Charlie Brown.” – Marcy
HAVE AN AWESOME THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY!