The Gift of Thanksgiving

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of Thanksgiving

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”.

William Arthur Ward

Thankfulness is a mindset.

A chosen way to be.. when all you see around you is calamity.

The news, the zeitgeist, the leaders and all that folks convey, is sadness, madness, and general dismay.

Thankfulness is a knowing, a spiritual mindedness.

That even when times are ridiculous, you can possess a mindset, a perspective that lends itself to be humble to know to count all the blessings that surround you.  

Even the ones you cannot see. 

So please practice thankfulness and you will see a change in your perspective that will help you in times of catastrophe. 

 

Thanksgiving is upon us. Wow! I cannot believe how fast this year has gone by. I am looking forward to the dressing. I believe folks from up north call it stuffing. In the south we call it dressing. I could take or leave the turkey. I started to ponder thankfulness on this very cold first day of November. Do you ever look through your pictures and think, “That was a wonderful day!” You could think of a variety of emotions, beauty, joy, and even sadness.  How do you cultivate an attitude of daily thankfulness?  To be sure it is no easy task. Some folks come by the practice quite easily.  Some refer to those folks as the cup is half full not half empty people.  I am quite confident even those folks struggle from time to time with an attitude, a longing to find something to be thankful for. I have a friend who is going through quite a difficult time.  Her relationship of many years has dissolved, she has to find a new place to live and to top it off, se has to find a new job as well.  I was prepared to give her a I am so sorry you are going through this, I wish there is something I could do to help this situation.  Before even uttering the words my friend stopped me and said, “I am at peace with what is happening in my life.  Rather than looking at this as an impasse, I choose to view this situation as an opportunity to start over just a little older and wiser.” Wow, I was flabbergasted.  To have such a dire situation and so many changes he maintains an attitude of gratitude.  She did say that she did struggle with a great deal of sadness but she chooses to let the emotion both be her guide and teacher.  What can we glean from my friends point of view?  I would say several ideas and suggestions.  In any given situation, you can choose to take the path of “woe is me” or the path of “what can this teach me?”.  Each road can lead you down a wave of emotions that to be quite honest is quite different.  Let us consider the woe is me path.  When you feel sorry, anxious, or even just have a little party who does it build up or help?  Certainly not yourself… and trust me, I am so guilty of the woe is me path. Much like planting seeds when you plant a seed of woefulness this can most certainly yield a crop of bitterness, resentment, and even anger.  Is it ok to feel those feelings?  Absolutely.  My husband tells our children when they encounter a moment of adversity or even depression he says, “Give it 48 hours, after that don’t stay in that pea soup of bad emotions.  Get up!  Take a walk, try to read something positive to pull yourself out of that egregious place.”  Now, if you proactively choose the path of, “What can I learn from this situation?”.  What would that yield?  Your crop most certainly would be a bit more thankfulness, learnedness, and even a vision to see how you can proceed with your future.  Study after study has shown that your attitude, your way of looking at the varying situations of life directly impacts your health and your outlook.  Even in the most dire of circumstances how can you cultivate an attitude of thankfulness?  By making the purposeful conscious choice to do so.  It may not always be the easy path.  But, in the words of Jesus Christ, “Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad and easy to travel is the path that leads to destruction and eternal loss, and there are many who enter through it.”  Wise words to heed.  Let us be thankful, mindful and grateful. Turn your common day into a Thanksgiving!

Source:  Biblehub.com Matthew 7:13

My books are on Amazon!

The Quacktastic Adventures of Ellie and Lord Barks a Lot

The Case of the Missing Cow Bell

The Case of the Missing Bumbly Wumbly Bee

The Case of the Missing Wellies

The Case of the Missing Honk Honk

Coming soon!

The Case of the Missing Ornaments!

Other books by Katherine:

Clean it up! Wash it Up!

Appalachian Allegory