Let's put the Thanks back in Thanksgiving.

It always saddens me that Thanksgiving seems to have become this speed bump in the road on the way to Black Friday and the retail driven Christmas hustle and bustle.  

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it encompasses all of my favorite things in this world:  family, spending time together, cooking, good food, and time to pause to recognize how much we have to be thankful for.

Now, with Black Friday scratching and clawing its way into the space of time between Halloween and Thanksgivign, it seems like it's more of a rush to finish the meal so we can get out (or in the time of COVID, online) and score the big deals.   This Thanksgiving, I challenge this: Put forth some extra effort into the attitude of gratitude. 

 “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” —William Arthur Ward

We all want to matter and we all want the feeling that our actions are worth something to someone in this world.  This time of year, we are all so busy, wrapped up in the urgent yet generally irrelevant matters of day to day life, we often overlook pausing to appreciate those people who have helped make our lives a little bit easier or a little bit better in some way.

So this Thanksgiving week, let us make the commitment to open our eyes to all of the wonderful things around us.  Let us find the power of sincere, heartfelt gratitude.  Let us change someone's day for the better by expressing our gratitude for making  a difference in our lives, no matter how small.

At least once during each day this week, put your device down, take a look around you and make it a point to recognize, then verbalize your appreciation for all the things the people around you do (big and small) that make your life just a little bit easier.    When you tell a store clerk or someone who took time to hold the door for you thank you, do it in a way that makes them certain you appreciate them.  Regarding the more constant people in your life, on a phone call or zoom, write a note, send an email, or schedule a coffee date to let those people know how much you appreciate their help, guidance, support, or whatever it is that has made a difference in your life.  

HOW you do it matters less than,  THAT you do it, will make all of the difference in the world.  Let's make the effort to put the THANKS back in Thanksgiving this year, you’ll be surprised how much of an impact you can make.

 “Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.” —Zig Ziglar