Over the last few years I’ve found myself wondering whether being thankful on Thanksgiving is redundant, or just too obvious to mean as much as is made of it. At the very least, it’s predictable…thankfulness on Thanksgiving. That’s not to say it’s without merit, though one designated day definitely is not the be-all-end-all for feeling grateful.
I’ve started seeing Thanksgiving as more of an anchor point for more general reflection, to take stock of how I’m doing with practicing active gratitude the other 364 days of the year (365 if it’s a Leap Year). I review and evaluate…nothing too deep or intense (looking in the rearview mirror is for driving not living!), but I take a mental inventory…verify and validate…have I felt enough gratitude? Expressed enough? Have I listened to and heard and done enough for others? I’m always finding room for improvement; I can always do and be better. Even with room to grow, overall I’m feeling pretty good about how I’m doing with being in and appreciating both the moments and the good (quite amazing, really) people I share them with.
Gratitude, alive
As I get older, gratitude has become a living thing for me; it’s always been real, but it’s become much more tangible over time. It’s active and passive, proactive and reactive—any time, any form, as long as it’s authentic. You never know what the next hour will bring, let alone the next day. So I think it’s important to live with a bit of urgency and a lot of appreciation. Gratitude really is an attitude…it’s also a behavior. Gratitude can be words, yes, but only if those words are reflected in actions, if the words take on life. So I work hard to make gratitude a regular part of how I live, of who I am and how I am.
Small places and shared spaces
Gratitude isn’t about a big bang. I mean, it is if something huge happens for you, and then by all means, rejoice, be glad, and be grateful. But appreciation and gratitude can be found in the everyday stuff…the mundane is rarely wholly mundane, and routine can deliver plenty of unexpected beauty. Throw in the fact that the people you choose to be with undoubtedly bring light and love and laughter to your life. Feel the warmth of it and feed off of it. It doesn’t just make the good days better, it’s fuel for the darker days.
All day, every day
There’s no time limit on when you can enjoy it or express it. There’s no bad day to feel thankful or give thanks. The world can be overwhelming sometimes. We feel burdened and harried. Things aren’t always fair. It’s a challenge not to let the stress of expectation take away from the sweetness of experience. Every moment is its own miracle. The more we live in the moments, the more we appreciate the miracles. And that, if you ask me, is what life’s all about.
Gratitude, alive.
Small places and shared spaces.
All day, every day.
Short week, short-ish post. Hope you have a good one and that Thanksgiving finds you with a full heart. I also know that for some of you, conditions and circumstances don’t allow gratitude to come easily (or at all, really), and I want you to know that I feel for you and that I am pulling for you. I’m on your side and I am here for you if you need me.
Thanks for being here. I hope you know how grateful I am for each of you.
Love you too.
And since one of the things I enjoyed and appreciated since we last shared this small screen was seeing Belfast (highly recommend!) on the big screen, this one feels right for right now: