A Lot to be Thankful For!

“The key to life is to be grateful and give thanks for everything that happens -- both the happiness and the sadness.” Author unknown

This quote is on the bottom of my calendar this month.  I’ve checked this same calendar numerous times this month; today is the first time I noticed it. Perhaps that’s because I asked for an inspiration for this blog this morning.  Ask and you shall receive! In any event ‘being grateful’ is a perfect topic for the week before Thanksgiving. 

When our children were young, it was a tradition in our household to go around the dinner table and state the things for which you were thankful. As they grew older we seem to have lost the tradition but now that they have families of their own I think that we should re-initiate it. It’s very easy to say that we are thankful for the happiness in our lives: the new job, the new house, our families, etc. But how can we be thankful for the sadness? How can we express our gratitude for something that has brought us sadness: the loss of a job, illness, the death of a friend or family member? That’s a little more difficult.

Earlier this year, after having attended 7 funerals in a few months, I wrote an entry in my Nuts and Bolts blog about ‘Life Lessons learned through death.’ Some of the lessons I learned were that we need to keep in touch more with those we love, that death happens no matter what your religious beliefs are and to never be afraid to say ‘I love you.’ But can I truly say that I’m grateful for these sad events?  That’s a tough one!

I thought about how to pull the positive out of these unhappy situations and find something for which to be grateful. When my mother died I was deeply saddened; but I was also grateful for the days I had to be with her while she was ill. Usually when you lose a job you find something much more rewarding and the same with a bad relationship; in time you’ll find someone more suited to your needs and wants. Sometimes a prolonged illness will give you time to think about your life and renew your faith.  Sometimes we just need to sift through the ashes a little longer before we can rise up again.

This Thursday is Thanksgiving and we all have reasons to be thankful, for both the happiness that we enjoy and the sadness that gives us grace and strength. If you don’t have a sharing tradition in place, why not start one this year and if you do have one, reinforce it. Express your gratitude to your family and friends.  Make it truly a day of gratefulness and not just a turkey fest.

And from my house to yours:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!