Yesterday was Thanksgiving. I'm not a born American citizen but I love this holiday. It is not only about remembering the first pilgrims, it is about being thankful for what you have. I understand that you could be in a challenging situation in which it is may be hard to feel thankful for anything, but especially in those situations its spirit lifting to find something to hold on to.
A few years ago I went through one of my most challenging periods in my life. Being grateful was definitely not on top of my mind at the time. It was easier to be angry and to blame. I was worried and had fear for what the future would bring me and I suppressed grief and unbelief of the situation I was in.
I'm not saying that I used careful processed thoughts to find things in my life to be still thankful for, but the fact is I did and know now that it gave me strength to accept and change my circumstances.
On hindsight I used a simple 5 steps process:
- I made a list for the things I still could be thankful for (material and non material).
- I made a habit finding each day at least one thing to be grateful for.
- I focused on the things I could change and accepted the things I couldn't (at least not then).
- I went over this list every night before going to bed.
- I shared both griefs and gratefulness with someone I fully trusted.
Now this sounds maybe too simple and even scilly, but I'm inviting you to try it if you are in a 'challenging' period yourself.
Mary J. Lore writes in her book 'Managing thoughts and the power of thankfulness':
"Thankfulness is one of the quickest and most powerful ways to create a change in our circumstances and move us in a direction that serves our purpose. Being thankful raises individuals to a new level of consciousness. It gives us access to our highest awareness and our ability to see the myriad of possibilities, discover what we truly want, and create and realize a vision for the future."
I can only testify that in my darkest period of life, I found purpose and strength by being grateful for what I have. Does that mean I never feel pain anger or grief anymore? Of course it doesn't, but I can give these emotions a place now and am not dragged down by them. I found that there is great power in being thankful and I hope you can find that too when you need it.
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"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~JD
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