Last week, many of us celebrated the holiday of Thanksgiving, gathering together to enjoy time with loved ones and give thanks. Giving thanks isn’t just something we should do once a year. We should all practice the act of thanksgiving in our daily lives.
Thanksgiving
The American holiday of Thanksgiving has a long history, but the primary theme of the holiday is this: be grateful for the people, systems, structures, and things in your life. It’s literally in the name to give thanks. On Thanksgiving, we all like to come together for a feast with friends, family, and loved ones and be thankful for what we have.
Every Thanksgiving, many people spend some time reflecting on things that they are grateful for. This practice somehow seems to put people in a good mood and may even churn-up some dormant emotions. It’s typical for everyone to head home after Thanksgiving dinner with warm feelings of love and gratitude.
The Power of Gratitude
In this yearly tradition in which we give thanks, we are reminded of what is truly important. For a few days afterwards, we wake up feeling a little more optimistic about the world and our circumstances. Sometimes, it even seems like good things happen around this time, making life even better and more worthy of gratitude. The time surrounding Thanksgiving is usually a happy, prosperous, and creative time for families, individuals, and businesses. Do you think this is a coincidence? I don’t. I don’t believe in coincidences at all.
It is my belief that practicing gratitude elevates mental and emotional well-being. The reason we are happy on Thanksgiving is because we take some time to stop wanting and start thanking. We thank ourselves, we thank our friends, families, partners, coworkers, and so on for being there. We thank God, the universe, or whatever we may believe in for blessing us with gifts and prosperity. In doing so, we focus on the good things in our lives and by this we attract more blessings into our lives.
Give Thanks
I charge you to start to give thanks. Not just once a year either, but every day. Every morning when you wake up, spend a moment reflecting on what you’re grateful for. Write these things down. Tell them to other people. Practice gratitude. Create a habit out of gratitude. Appreciate the things and people you have in your life. You will value them more, and in turn you will be valued more. I truly believe that being thankful will open you up to opportunity and prosperity.
I hope that everyone had a terrific Thanksgiving with family and friends. Let this holiday remind you of what really matters. Let it remind you to practice gratitude and give thanks.
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