The one thing I have always appreciated about Thanksgiving is how it seems to create a collective shift in consciousness for a week, a day, or even just a moment about being grateful for what we have. We spend so much of our lives steeped in what we want to be different, what’s not working, or what we need more of in order to “be happy.” In a culture of “not enough” it’s easy to get caught in this trap. I know I get stuck there more often than I’d like to admit.
Thanksgiving creates an opportunity for all of us to pause and take inventory of what is working and the abundance in our lives. My hope is that even once the turkeys (in my case tofurky) and the stuffing have come and gone we can all endeavor to extend this practice beyond the table and into our daily lives.
Why is this so important? When we bring awareness to the good in our lives, most of which tends to go completely unnoticed, we can shift our perspective and the way we feel about ourselves and the world around us.
I recently heard the quote “what you appreciate, appreciates.” In other words when we turn our attention towards the gifts we already have in our lives, those things begin to grow and multiply.
So I invite you all to join me in trying to make this a daily part of your life. One idea could be to keep a daily gratitude journal. Another might be bringing more awareness to your thoughts and when you catch yourself thinking “I need more of _____ in order to be happy” or “why me?!” shifting the sentence to “I am so grateful for the abundance of _____ in my life,” letting the focus be on non-material things. I hope that you’ll find that these small shifts can make a big difference.
Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving!
With gratitude,
Daniela
What parts of this resonated most with you? How might you approach your life differently with this new wisdom? Share with me by commenting on my facebook page.
