And what did you learn this weekend?
“Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.”
- Are you thankful that you got to cook, or that you didn’t have to cook?
- Are you thankful that you got to travel, or that you didn’t have to travel?
- Are you thankful for your family and friends?
- Are you grateful for electricity and running water?
For myself, I’m thankful for not having to cook, not having to travel, and for having a wonderful family and friends. Also for the electricity to cook the dinner and the water to wash the dishes afterwards!
Come on, we’re all thankful for lots of things, but we sometimes forget to acknowledge it or express it!
And feeling grateful toward someone can crowd out emotions like resentment and annoyance. So, if there were some difficult folks this long weekend (whether in our family or in the stores) we have the opportunity to remember all the good stuff, the thoughtful folks, the moments of laughter at some silly situation.
Wait, you might be thinking, this doesn’t tell me how to deal with those difficult folks-they tell me how to behave myself.
Well, guess what! We can’t change what those difficult folks do or are going to do; we can only change ourselves.
But when we change, our relationship changes and our perception of the experience changes too!
So, we had the opportunity this long weekend to learn something about ourselves and maybe even make a positive change!
Do you agree?