"Thanksgiving enables us to be fully present in each of the moments of our lives and, at the same time, be fully present to the eternity which is crashing into those moments (for those who have eyes to see). We have the ability to resist the culture of despair by bearing witness to life and hope! Cynicism loosens its smugly fearful, icy grip, warmed by winds of thanks."
I am starting a new series (and ideally continuing it). I have felt very thankful lately but the reality is that it has not yet affected me as I wish. I am aware of my thankfulness, but it has not shaped me as a person quite yet, so I have decided to take some time everyday to spend time meditating on thankfulness. I am not sure yet what will come out of this, but I think that thankfulness is extremely beneficial in a variety of areas of life. So, that is the background.
Day 1: I think that thankfulness goes a lot deeper than most people realize. Not simply politely saying "Thank You" now and again, but having an honest attitude of thankfulness. Lately I have been very thankful just for the gift of being alive every day. I have not done anything to earn this life and the fact that I have new days each and every day is something that I am continually thankful for.
Thankfulness changes things. Someone who is thankful as an attitude complains less. It is quite simple, if you are thankful for something than that person is far less likely to complain about it; it is a blessing merely to possess it. Additionally, I think that thankfulness as an attitude is the antithesis to anger. If you are really truly thankful for something, than it is awfully hard to get angry about it. Really, try being really thankful for a certain relationship and see if you can still get easily angry at that person. I think that what I am trying to say is that thankfulness as an attitude makes you a better person. It may seem obvious to say such, but I try and give objective reasons for things. Hence, enjoy some objective reasons that thankfulness as an attitude makes you a better person: you generally complain less, it takes more to get angry (and I think you generally get angry at more correct things), and I would say finally that you live life with more purpose. Allow me to elaborate on this last point.
Suppose that you get a Christmas gift and it is something that you have really been wanted and you are so thankful for this, and I mean truly thankful. You will do your best to protect this item, be it a toy, clothes, etc. You do not take lightly this gift and you do not take it for granted. Or, if you get money as a gift, you are more lightly to spend it wisely and not foolishly. So, it is easy to see how when you take the attitude that your life is a gift and you are really thankful for it, you do not want to waste it; instead, you want to spend it wisely, understanding that you get but one life. I am so thankful for my life right now, and I do not want to waste it, I cannot. This is yet another way that thankfulness practically makes you a better person: you value life more and thus live it with more purpose; I think that it is even more difficult to grow complacent when you are really thankful for life. Seeing as you have so few days, it is vitally important to be thankful just for life because in that you are freed to find purpose.
I guess that I would just encourage you to just value your life, be thankful for just being alive, and watch as you practically become a better person, at least that is what I am trying to do.
This has been the first of my meditations on thankfulness.
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