Every year we reach the day when we celebrate “Thanksgiving Day” because of amazing historical events that changed our nation into what it is today. I am grateful to live in this land and grateful to share in this beautiful day when families and friends unite, coming together with the same purpose of thanksgiving.
Most people are very busy with preparation, but the emotions of thanksgiving and a sort of awareness, that for many is spiritual, is in the air. Thanksgiving is the start of a season of giving, when the largest philanthropist movements of the year begin.
Some families exercise thanksgiving and others just enjoy the delicious foods and fun company. However, sadly, we go back to normal in no time and tend to forget about the feeling and the reason we come together.
Today, I want to invite you to experience thanksgiving as a way of life.
We can pursue thanksgiving in our lives when we experience gratefulness from the inside out. This gratefulness does not magically live inside of you; it is built.
Before I tell you how to build it, let me tell you what thanksgiving will do for you.
Once you practice giving thanks, you will begin experiencing the emotions emitted by gratefulness. This will naturally happen as you consciously practice it.
Your outlook on life will be happier, more aware, more open, more positive, less selfish, and less stressful. Why? Because as you develop this practice you will experience the wellness and peace of gratefulness, which in turn will enable you to secrete the so called “Happy Hormones” (Dopamine and Serotonin).
In reality, anyone who desires to change his or her life can adopt this practice for a life changing new found attitude and fresh perspectives.
How do I practice Thanksgiving?
It is rather simple. You can develop awareness and conscious gratefulness, but choosing to look at all the details of your life and count your blessings.
At first, daily write down all the good things in every area of your life. Some examples are:
- I am grateful for my health.
- I am grateful for my house.
- I am grateful for my family.
- I am grateful for my friends.
- I am grateful for my income.
- I am grateful for my dreams and hopes for the future.
- I am grateful I am alive.
- I am grateful I am loved and cared for.
Another way to give thanks is looking at what is wrong in your life or not as good as you wished and recognize that everything could be worse. As you realize this fact, you develop the strength to face difficulties with a more open mind and awareness, which sometimes may even allow you to change a bad into a good. Examples of this can be:
- I don’t have enough money to make it each month. However, I am grateful that I have a place to live in.
- I am sick. However, I am grateful that I am not sicker, or I am grateful that I am on my way to recovery.
- I am sad because of this or that bad relationship. However, I am grateful that I have this or that friend who is there for me.
- I am going through a rough patch at work. However, I am grateful I have a job.
Express gratefulness according to your beliefs, your faith, religion or spirituality.
Making this a way of your thought-life will change who you are into a better, more positive, happier you. So, go for it. Try it out. Don’t give in to negative emotions and don’t give up. I am grateful for you.
With much love,
Alicia Yombalakian