Despite what your elders may have said, gratitude is not just a duty, a life-time burden. Of course it is polite to say thank to acknowlege gifts and favors, but just saying the words is not the same as feeling grateful.
Gratitude is the happy awareness of blessings, like love, warmth, sharing good food or a quiet time alone. I think it should be spelled greatfull -- knowing all the greatness we are full of.
Express gratitude and watch it grow as if sharing were a magic fertilizer. When I lived in Carlsbad, CA, on the Thursday before Thanksgiving, I hosted a thanks giving evening. The invitation always read "Bring something to share, something to say, or just come as you are." We enjoyed the goodies people brought then gathered in a circle to tell each other what we were grateful for in our lives. Tears and laughter and many a "me too, oh I forgot that one!" followed. Most people took several turns.
So as I bake my cranberry walnut pie this year for a gathering with neighbors, I am grateful for:
- Life
- Love
- My dear family
- Work I still enjoy Breakout Coaching after all of these years
- Wonderful books and those who spend the long isolated hours to write them
- My sweet desert home
- The dearly departed I miss so much
- You! I am very grateful to share these thoughts with you. Thank you.
That's just a beginning. Shall we make it grow? I would love to know what you are grateful this year. Please use POST A COMMENT below if you'd like share your list or your thoughts.
Wishing you many blessings and great-full-ness!
With love,
Mandy
Posts
