A day to Reflect like no other

Another year has come and gone, another holiday season soon to pass, and another Thanksgiving is now upon us when we will gather to eat good food, spend time with family and friends, watch football (at least in our house), and take time to reflect on what we’re most thankful for.

Last year was my first Thanksgiving Day post and what I was thankful for then, I’m still very thankful for now.  The only change in circumstances for me was my health, which took a turn soon after that post but has recently been remedied, for which I am very thankful. I look forward to much better health in the coming year. 

The last few months of each year tend to bring out thoughts and emotions like no other time of the year.  We begin with giving thanks on Thanksgiving while spending time with family, move on to Christmas where we continue to appreciate time spent with family, especially children and grandchildren, until we reach the end of the year when we make New Year’s resolutions and promise to ourselves that this time next year, things will be even better.

Thanksgiving is not a time for regrets or negative thoughts.  It is a time for reflection…being thankful for what we have now and embracing what’s ahead of us, as well.  Time passes so fast and things can change so quickly.  We need to hold tightly to the good things in our lives and be very thankful for them, never taking them for granted. 

But why do most wait until these seasonal months to focus on being thankful for what they have?  Maybe it’s because, for many, the holidays tend to sugarcoat life so that we can shelve our stresses for awhile.  For those on Facebook, have you noticed the trend every year when people share something every day in November that they’re thankful for?  This doesn’t happen any other time of the year.  Are we thankful the other months of the year?  Of course, we are.  We just don’t voice it any other time of the year like we do now.  Should we find a way to show how thankful we are during the non-holiday months?  We definitely should and it would be especially nice for those closest to us who we are most thankful for -- but we tend to forget to express those feelings on a regular basis when we’re working against the daily grind and stresses of life. 

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest

appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” 

~John Fitzgerald Kennedy~

While we tend to show more gratitude this time of year, the idea is that we should remember to show our appreciation and be thankful every other day of the year.  Alas, we are human, and we tend to lose ourselves and our good intentions in the hustle and bustle of things.  That’s why this holiday is not just about the food, football and fully satisfied bellies at the end of the day.  Thanksgiving does for us what we tend to forget to do for ourselves and for others on a regular basis…it forces us to focus on what’s really important and reminds us how important it is to focus on what we’re thankful for.

Cheers and have a wonderful holiday.