Twin States Weather Blog

Being Grateful

* I hope you and your family have had a wonderful Thanksgiving. While I didn't get to visit with my family, I still have had an excellent Thanksgiving. I have much for which to be thankful: a job I love, a great family, and living in the greatest country in the entire world. We should try to be more thankful about things we have in life, especially given the vast human suffering still occurring along the Gulf Coast. While it stings us because this suffering is so close to home, we should also remember that this kind of suffering occurs every second of every minute somewhere in the world. We just have so much to be thankful for around here.

* Simply by living in America, we have it better than millions of people. Don't get me wrong, I'm not preaching - I'm as guilty as they come when it comes to taking things for granted. I ran across this article and thought you might enjoy it...

Thanksgiving is the one day that Americans dwell on what they're grateful for in their lives (except for the poor turkey). The food is blessed, loved ones are gathered together, and people go around the table giving thanks to what they have in their life. The next day comes around, and too many people go back to watching the football game and complaining about how much stuffing and pumpkin pie they ate.

It would be great if every day, the Thanksgiving spirit was kept alive. Instead of looking at what we don't have each day, look at what we do have and be grateful for it. (Yes, that half full, half empty glass cliche'). It is once again a shift of perception that makes all the difference in the world. If a shift can be made to a perception of daily gratefulness, we'll all remind ourselves of how LUCKY WE ARE TO BE ALIVE!

The old tradition of blessing food each day is certainly admirable - it reminds us of how grateful we are to have this meal on the table - whether it be from a job's salary or a harvest.

I'd like to take it up one step further, and suggest picking out something different each day that you're grateful for, and reminding yourself throughout the day of that fact! You'll never run out of things to be grateful for - you can choose anything you want.

One day, you might think about how grateful you are to have the power of sight - how lucky you are to get to see flowers grow and the clear blue sky! The next day, you might be grateful for being given the sense of smell - to pick up the scent of a rose or a chocolate chip cookie baking. There are thousands of things to be grateful for - your child, home, job, legs, arms, lover, friends, your health, hands, sense of taste, furniture, photographs, books, music, the ocean, your pet. It doesn't matter what you choose, simply pick something each day and discover the many ways it touches your life and why you're grateful for that one thing. As time goes by, you'll see how many things you have to be grateful for.

You are so lucky to be alive and are given the chance each day to be here. Cherish what you have and who you are and what you can do. Concentrate on all the possibilities of your life, not the limitations. Be grateful for being you.

From "We are God, A Spiritual Guidebook" Copyright 1995 by Gregg Liebgold

posted by WTOK Weather Staff @ 10:21 PM