Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the United States of America.
Its origin and significance is often debated.
It’s questioned as to why there is only one day a year people in the United States of America give thanks.
Let’s put all those debates and questions aside for now. While you’re at it put aside the Black Friday and Cyber Monday madness as well.
Let’s talk about why we need to practice gratitude.
We are always striving for more.
More money, more things, more fame, and so on.
Because we hold the belief that more is better.
More will bring us happiness.
Less of something, well it leaves us feeling like we aren’t quite whole. We are lacking something.
So we keep striving for more, all the while neglecting to recognize what we already have.
When we lose the less of whatever we had we’re saddened.
“You don’t know what you had till it’s gone.” — Barry Manilow
So what were we waiting for?
Why weren’t we just happy with what we had?
Part of having a gratitude practice is recognizing what you have when you have it.
The tangible: things like food, shelter, wealth, and so on.
And the intangible: values like love, friendships, trust, health, and so on.
The act of giving thanks, is the act of recognizing what we have. By acknowledging their presence we show we value what we have.
The failure to give thanks, leads to regret, and an endless sense of longing.
But it’s not enough to give thanks once.
You have to make a practice out of it, daily, like brushing your teeth.
When you brush your teeth every day the reward is good health.
When you give thanks every day the reward is a sense of fulfillment.
This doesn’t mean you have to stop striving. You can keep going full steam ahead!
Just pause, give thanks, and you’ll be surprised at how much you have, and how much more you’ll be given in return.
Now it’s my turn to give thanks: thank you for reading, thank you for sharing my work with others, and thank you for participating in my journey.
