In the spirit of Thanksgiving week, I thought I’d write about being thankful. Optimism is a great trait. I myself have never been called an optimist. Some have called me a pessimist, but I would categorize myself as a realist – cautiously optimistic with eyes wide open to reality and aware of how a situation will most likely will turn out. The more the facts point to the potential of a positive outcome the more hopeful I can be. Regardless of my position on the optimist-pessimist scale, I do manage fairly well to be thankful for what I have. That is what I want to remind all of you today. Be thankful. Some of us have been through some pretty awful things in our life, but I would venture to say, we all have many things to be thankful for. There are some big things that usually come to mind for those of us who are healthy, intelligent, have solid family relationships, healthy marriages, healthy kids, financial stability, a beautiful home and many comforts of life. But let’s not forget the things we don’t usually think about until they are injured. Any of you know how hard it is to get through a day with a broken toe or an injured finger? Don’t take any part of your body for granted. If there is an absence of pain, be thankful. You may not love your job, but if you have one be thankful.
Most of us naturally take things for granted which then makes it hard to recognize all we have to be thankful for. Years ago I did something that I really should do again. I wrote down all the times I had an answer to prayer. The “little” requests as well as bigger events and requests. Every prayer that was said quickly when there was a need or desire as well as every prayer that was prayed in fervor for a larger issue. I recorded the prayer with the answers and kept them in a jar. That year at Thanksgiving I took them all out and read them. It was absolutely amazing to me how much I had to be thankful for. I had forgotten most of those prayers and answers because they were “part of life”. It reminded me how much I took for granted. But looking back on them I was reminded of how much I had to be thankful for.
I received a Thanksgiving card this year from a friend. What a wonderful idea. She was thanking me for being part of her life and for our friendship. That card was more meaningful than any birthday card I’ve received. This week, in addition to recognizing what you have to be thankful for, thank someone around you for what they bring to the relationship. Thank you for reading my blog.
The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings. –Eric Hoffer
