Why Take Time to Be Grateful at Thanksgiving?
Lately I’ve been feeling yanked around by life, swamped by the nitty gritties, burdened with my list of what I “should” do but don’t feel motivated to do.
You know what I mean. The perennial list. Lose weight, spend time with people instead of my computer, deal with the cat hair tumbleweed under the couch.
When I ignore the list for too long I get into a funk.
Definition: funk/fəNGk/ Noun – A mild state of depression
What’s the answer? How do I find the inspiration to do what needs to be done when all I feel is tired, unmotivated and quite satisfied to stay that way?
While I’ve been looking up and sharing my favorite Thanksgiving recipes, it made me think about the reason for Thanksgiving. I’m Canadian so we already celebrated our Thanksgiving the second week of October. There was lots of wonderful food, I saw my family, snuggled dogs. But there was little time for reflection and appreciation.
Thanksgiving is meant to be a time to stop, take stock in the events of the past year, and show thankfulness.
But why? Why when there’s been so much war this year, so many suffering financial loss, and too many things that don’t measure up?
My sister-in-law gave me the Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude by Sarah Ban Breathnach – I don’t know how many years ago. A great many.
I started to use it and then eventually forgot about it.
I discovered it on the shelf, and just love the amazing things she says about gratitude. I find comfort in her words.
“Gratitude is the most passionate, transformative force in the cosmos. When we offer thanks to God or to another human being, gratitude gifts us with renewal, reflection, reconnection.”
“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change how we experience life.”
When we are truly grateful, we switch our lens from seeing the glass as half empty to seeing it as half full. Nothing around us has changed. How we view it has changed. We focus on what we do have rather than what is lacking, on the friendly rather than the hostile.
“Gratitude holds us together even as we’re falling apart. Ironically, gratitude’s most powerful mysteries are often revealed when we are struggling in the midst of personal turmoil. When we stumble in the darkness, rage in anger, hurl faith across the room, abandon all hope. . .gratitude waits patiently to console and reassure us; there is a landscape larger than the one we can see.”
Appreciation gives us the strength to cling to hope and look towards a better future.
“We don’t feel grateful when our hearts are broken and our dreams are dashed. But it doesn’t really matter how we feel, it just matters that we do it.”
Stopping. Taking time to look at things differently than we have in the past. Putting our situation into new words. Seeing it in a new light. Writing down the checklist of blessings.
Gratitude puts everything in a better perspective, igniting the flame of hope in our hearts, stirring our spirit to wait. Just wait. There’s something more. And it’s good.
I’d like to take this moment to show appreciation. I sincerely thank you for taking the time to visit us here at Delightful Woman. We know your time is precious. We are truly grateful.
If you’re interested in our own gratitude journals, here are a few of the favorites:
