Give Thanks

It is Thanksgiving. A perfect time to talk about the importance of being grateful. We all know it is important to be grateful, logically speaking, but it is sometimes hard to put this into practice. Of course, this holiday is centered around giving thanks for the good things in our lives, but it got me thinking about how I can make this a regular practice in my life.

Why is it so easy to be in a state of gratefulness on Thanksgiving? And a state of romance on Valentines Day? And a state of patriotism on July 4th? It is because our attention is focused clearly on that thing on that day. Some people gripe about such holidays because they argue that we should be able to express romance and gratefulness and patriotism every day of the year. I love such holidays but I certainly agree that it can be easy to let the simple sentiments slide.

In his short book, As a Man Thinketh, James Allen argues that a man “is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.” If that is true–and I believe it is–then I need to prioritize thinking thoughts that focus on being grateful for my blessing, being kind to others, being romantic with my husband, being patient with my kids, and so on. These have to be a focus because I actually want to improve my character. The actions associated with these things are preceded by the thoughts we allow ourselves to focus on.

As we enter a new day tomorrow, one that sometimes feels like the opposite of a day of thanks–as Black Friday is a day focused on buying–I have two parting thoughts:

  1. I have to train my mind to think about good things every day of the year, not just on some days here and there.
  2. The actions I take and the words I say are a reflection of the thoughts I think so my thoughts are incredibly important.

We all have so much to be grateful for, even in the midst of hardships, but one of the biggest blessings we all possess is the ability to choose our thoughts and words and actions. Let’s choose wisely.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Author: Mandy

I live in the sunny Southwest with my husband, son, and our two dogs. I am a writer and I love exploring life through reading and writing.