The practice of giving thanks is a lost art for most of us. Too often we are driven by circumstances and our reactions to them. For many of us, we live reactionary lives. For example, if someone cuts you off on the highway you may feel inclined to give such person a certain reactionary response. When your child spills a drink on the rug, you react. When you get that credit card bill in the mail that you weren’t expecting. It goes on and on. Here’s the thing – this is life! Life is filled with ups and downs so we first need to understand and accept this. Next, we need to learn the art of giving thanks in all situations. This forces us to stop and slow down long enough to see the good in others. So, when my child spills something on the rug, I don’t lose it because I’ve trained myself to be thankful in the big picture of things rather than reacting to the minor things of the day. In the big picture of things I am grateful that my child is healthy; I’m grateful that I have the means to own a nice home with a nice new rug that can take a few spills versus living on the streets.
Learning to give thanks helps us to LOOK for the good in others and in the circumstances of life that are out of our control. This gives us perspective. Sometimes we lose perspective because we get consumed by the here and the now versus taking in life from a bird’s eye view. Practice looking for the good, slowing down long enough not to react, gain perspective and then give thanks. The more we practice this the more grateful we will be.
So, this Thanksgiving, look for the good in those around you and then take a risk by sharing with them what you’re thankful for regarding who they are in your life. Look past their humanness; look past their frailties and faults; Look for the good and then let them know how thankful you are for them.
I hope you give this a shot, and as a result, I hope you all have a wonderful Thankgiving! It’s worth the RISK!
