With Thanksgiving just a few days away, I have been pondering the meaning and influence of gratitude. It seems such a simple, unimportant aspect of life, yet, there is great power in its practice, or lack thereof, whichever the case may be.

As a child, I learned to give thanks for many things, some of which were obvious as the food on our table and others not as apparent, like a warm, sunny day. And, when I received a gift, I was instructed to write a note of gratitude to the giver.  I remember taking great care with these notes and laboring over just the right thing to say to express my appreciation.

Life, however, happens, and time seems to lay waste to habits deemed not as important. For many years I struggled to maintain the gratitude practices I had learned as a child. Gone were the days I thanked the birds in the morning for their beautiful song, and I had no time to handwrite thank you notes except for the grandest of gifts. My verbal thanks for small kindnesses in the moment also evaporated as I was thinking of all the things I had to do and not paying attention to what was.

And yet, I began to hold others accountable for their perceived ingratitude. With no acknowledgment from the person I held a door open for, I determined them egotistical and entitled, not distracted. The Thank You note not received for the gift given; that person was lazy and ungrateful, not busy and forgetful. Based on these and other storylines I had created, I found myself wanting to do less for others and disconnecting from friends and acquaintances. Entitlement, something I had thought I was immune to, became a daily companion. I wondered at how I had arrived in this ugly, unwanted place.

One of the tools suggested to me to begin traveling a more joyful path was to adopt a gratitude practice, to give thanks each day for grand things and mundane things, those of great consequence and those of little. And so I began, not believing it would make a difference. I soon realized that having the intention to be grateful for all things each day, I was more often rooted in the present. Those small kindnesses that had disappeared began recurring daily again, and perhaps they had never truly left. The relationships that had been strained were reenergized as connections were made again. My sense of entitlement grew less and less until it was a distant memory. What I have found is that for me, there is magic in giving thanks to another person. My perception of lack turned to a perception of abundance. The energy flow that is initiated by another continues to flow with acknowledgment.  I was validating someone’s intrinsic value, saying to them, they matter. Their actions matter. And isn’t that what we all desire, to be valued and seen?

So, just for today, I will thank the birds for their songs. Just for today, I will thank my husband for his warm embrace. Just for today, I will thank my dog for walking with me in the morning. Just for today, I will give thanks for the sun, the wind, the rain, or the clouds because they all bestow different gifts.
Just for today, I will be grateful.

Wishing you, dear friend, much gratitude on your heartfelt journey.~♥~