Holidays are looking a little different this year.
Our emotions may be all over the place, from excitement to anxiety.
I wanted to write this post during the holidays because many of us may be coping with the changes in our agendas. Since, Thanksgiving is this week, I think it is important to begin looking at what we are grateful for and sharing kindness. Instead of embracing the feelings of anger and frustration, shift your focus to the things you can appreciate.
How can we cultivate gratitude?
Gratitude is the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and return kindness to others. Gratitude can often be forgotten about when we are filled with stress and negative emotions. As we struggle to adapt to the changes during the holiday season, it is important to let gratitude into our lives.
Gratitude can help increase our HAPPINESS. If you think about it, when someone does something for you that fills your heart with grateful feelings of warmth, it leads to you becoming happy. Gratitude can help spread joy to others. Gratitude helps us stop and become mindful of what we already have around us. If we receive or give gratitude, we can gain a sense of joy. Especially, during a time where our world seems different, a simple act of gratitude can change someone's day or life.
Thanksgiving is a holiday that has a lot significance centered around food.
Turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and a bountiful meal has become the meaning of Thanksgiving in many American homes. We believe that the most important thing is making sure our food taste delicious and our homes look festive.
I know in my home there is never enough dessert. I think my mom spends most of the week in the kitchen and endless hours trying to prepare the best meal.
Sadly, many of us have forgotten that there is much more to Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is an opportunity to express our gratitude for what we have in our lives. Our good relationship with family and friends, our health, and our opportunities are all things we can be grateful for. Thanksgiving has many layers that include laughter, traditions, and connections. Due to the current situation, some layers may not be possible this year. So, we may have to go deep down to the core of Thanksgiving and cultivate gratitude.
A few ways to help you cultivate gratitude this week are….
Writing down FIVE things you are grateful for.
Spending some time with a love-one.
Saying thank you to the person who holds the door for you.
Giving a hug and a "Thank you."
Helping out a friend or family member.
Showing kindness to the worker that you get your morning coffee from.
Calling a friend or family member who you haven’t spoken to in a while.
Writing a thank you card to someone special.
Sharing your appreciation to family and friends.
Buying flowers for someone who may be having a bad day.
Creating a gratitude journal.
Donating to a charity.
Showing gratitude and kindness to a strangers.
There are so many ways to cultivate gratitude. We often forget that gratitude and kindness are some of the most simplest yet most powerful things we can do for each other. Thanksgiving is about being grateful for what you have and giving kindness to others around you.
This week, try to think about what you are grateful for and share kindness to others. You may be able to help a struggling soul find joy in our world.
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