We've just observed Thanksgiving Day, so today would be a good day to think about what we gave thanks for.
Thanksgiving Day started being observed in the United States of America nearly 400 years ago. Not much is known about the first recorded feast between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians in the New World at Plymouth in 1621, after the Pilgrims successfully harvested their first crop. It was not called Thanksgiving then, but the occasion was a symbol of a coming together in happiness and gratitude for having survived one whole year in a new land and for a good harvest. It would be good to remember, at this point, that the early European colonizers and Native Americans lived in peace for about 10 years until thousands of additional settlers arrived. The ensuing fight for land and rising animosity exploded in a war in 1675.
Abraham Lincoln officially declared Thanksgiving a national holiday by proclamation in 1863.
All Americans go back or try to go back to their homes at this time. This is sacrosanct family time. It is a time for being together and a time to thank God for blessings received. For Native Americans, this is day of somber remembrance...a day to celebrate their survival.
Whether for blessings received or for having survived through difficult times, this is a time for gratitude....To consciously be grateful does not come easily to many of us. While we say Thank you very often - in fact the words just slip off the tongue, usually unthinkingly, - for help given to us, how many times are we conscious that we are thanking a person for the helping hand stretched out to us? How many of us consciously thank God for each new day...for sunlight and flowers, for rain..............for the gazillion good and happy things that happen to us and which we just accept. Indeed, we take all the good things that happen to us as our due! But breathing a Thank you?....aah there we kind of balk. It is important, though, to be able to consciously be thankful. Maybe we need to work on this and practice it and if we haven't already started it, then now would be a good time to start. Be conscious of every teeny tiny thing that happens and breathe a thank you. For those who believe, we thank God, and for those who don't just whisper a thank you anyway....it will go where it has to.... Towards people who help us or reach out to us, let's be conscious of them as we thank them...they are people just like us with feelings...
Every bit of life we are grateful for and consciously acknowledge, will come back to us. And in every bit of bad thing that happens, we will find a small gem that we can be grateful for.
But, what happens when we don't feel like being grateful? Here are some tips that I got from this link-http://motto.time.com/4578385/how-to-feel-more-grateful/?xid=newsletter-brief:
1. Don’t make it a Big Thing - Rabbi Joel Nickerson of Temple Isaiah, in Los Angeles says, “It’s not about finding new forms of positivity in life, but rather about reorienting yourself around the things that you should already be grateful for.” And not just the big, obvious ones—good health or a job promotion—but small things, too.
2. Don’t make it a chore - There is a big difference between choosing to and having to do something. When you have to do something, the instinctive reaction is to resist, but when you choose to do something, it comes out feeling more real to you.
3. Reframe your thank-yous - Instead of just saying thank you, add something personal to it recognizing, perhaps, how difficult it must have been for the person helping you, or how much you appreciate the effort that the person must have put into it....something personal.
4. Cut others some slack - Try not to be too hard on people who show public gratitude. We don't know their motive, but instead of spoiling our minds, let's just blank them out.
5. Give verbal high fives - Thanking someone who thanks you spreads good cheer.
6. Be concrete - This is a take on counting our blessings. When we count our blessings, we can be consciously thankful for each one of them.
7. Give back - Think of ways in which you could reciprocate or give back or pass on a kindness received.
Here are some thoughts on gratitude:
In giving thanks we give of ourselves.
Gratitude is a state of being. - Iyanla Vanzant
Gratitude shifts your perception. - Dr Robert Holden
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. - Melody Beattie
When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect towards others. - The Dalai Lama
Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. - Maya Angelou
Every hour is grace.....be thankful for that hour.
To those who share my blog, Thank You...