If you haven't noticed yet, the holiday madness is nearly upon us. Not long after you read through this newsletter there will be some over-eager disc jockey that decides to start rotating Christmas/winter holiday music even sooner than last year. The reason I mention the madness is that before it really hits, we get one, really awesome, nearly relaxing holiday to kick off the true season: Thanksgiving.
I love thanksgiving, not really for the turkey, and it may be because my birthday often falls on it, but I love this time of the year. The colors are so vivid and beautiful; the temperatures cool down and get comfortable; I get to fluff up my flannel shirts for the first day of flannel; and I get to be mobbed with all of my extended family.
To be grateful is to be appreciative of the benefits and gifts that you have received, or to be thankful. It also means to be pleasing by reason of supplied comfort, or by alleviating discomfort. So there are two sides to being Grateful: thanksgiving and thanks giving.
To be appreciative for what you have and for what others have done for you makes you a gracious and humble person. To be a giver of comfort makes you great and good, and that is what the holiday season should truly reflect.
I challenge you this Thanksgiving holiday to make gratitude your attitude and not just an occasional thank-you card. Here are some of the ways that you can develop a new attitude and maybe even establish some new holiday traditions:
Try a gratitude journal
It can be challenging to sit down and write about yourself in any journal, but this isn't about you, it's about what everyone else has done for you. It can be hard at first, but once you start--WOW--talk about a humbling experience.
Do something thoughtful for someone that has been kind, or thanks giving to you
It could just be a note, or maybe you pick-up an extra one of their favorite brownies, or whatever. It's not the item itself; it is the thanksgiving that goes into it.
Invite an extra guest or two to share Thanksgiving with you
You will be thanksgiving, you will have fewer leftovers to find spots in the fridge for, and you and your family may gain a lifelong friend. And as the saying goes, "you can never have too many friends".
Provide dinner fixings for a family in need
You can also put together a Thanksgiving care package for someone so that they are able to celebrate the season and give thanks.
Visit and Volunteer
Visit with those that have given and shared so much. Volunteer at the local senior home or center, the local veteran's hospital or office, the regular hospital (especially where children are present), or work with your local animal shelter or rescue.
Donate
Give to your favorite charity, women's shelter, homeless shelter, orphanage, or your local church. You can even donate blood. You don't have to carry the whole world on just your shoulders, but as my grandmother always said, "many hands make light work". The heaviest weight in the world is but a handful, if everyone that can, reaches out. This can be money, or stuff that you donate, but if you are able I would challenge you to give the gift of your presence and time. You will truly feel both thanksgiving and thanks giving.
Remember
Remember those that are far away from you. Your grandmother on the other side of the country, your niece that is away at school, your brother, son, father, uncle, daughter, or aunt who is half a world away in the armed services. Write them an extra note, send them a card, give them a call if you can, or send them a package of necessaries and silly, fun stuff that you know they'd have a hard time getting for themselves. Trust me, you will be remembered too!
Take your new attitude and give everyone a piece of it. Oh, and continue to be simply FANTASTIC!
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