THANKSgiving Week Thoughts
"If you concentrate on finding
whatever is good in every situation,
you will discover that your life
will suddenly be filled with gratitude,
a feeling that nurtures the soul."
-- Rabbi Harold Kushner
Today is day three of the THANKSgiving Week Thoughts and it's all about giving thanks and filling myself with gratitude.
Things were what I focused on yesterday and starting with all the little things we take for granted yet can be thankful for and create a flow of thankful thoughts. Running water from the sink faucet, hot showers, toilet paper, washing machines, rubber tires. Indeed, there are thousands of things that we can express our thankfulness for and that we are thankful for except that they blend in and we just don't see them anymore in that way. Renewing that relationship helps to prime the pump and get the juices of thankfulness moving. Writing them down helps.
But, today, let's venture into the so-called 'harder' things to find thanks in. You know, the people who did you wrong, the job you hate, the politicians who don't care, your parents and how they never seemed to encourage you or fill in the blank. We all have had experiences, made decisions that we blame for some experiences we would rather forget. It's those things.
It's not about forgiveness. It's not even about letting go. Although those things seem to help, for these stronger ones it takes more. It takes finding the good and then becoming grateful for them instead of wanting to forget them.
I've dealt with a number of things from my past in this way. Enlightened philosophers and sages say there are no mistakes and that everything happens for a reason and everything is in perfect order. Trying to accept that premise just for a bit is helpful to find that silver lining in the midst of what we might have thought of as a tragedy, a mistake, something to forget.
At first, it is very hard to find good in it, so a good question is, 'if there could be something good in this, what might it be?' We get so stuck sometimes with our limited perceptions. Shakespeare said it perfectly: "Tis nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so." We just need a shift in perspective.
I have become thankful for virtually every situation or circumstance in my life now by facing them and finding the good and becoming thankful for the situation. This includes deaths of loved ones, so-called serious judgment errors, thinking my parents were ill-prepared for child rearing and much more. It is all perfect now and there is no fault because there is now nothing but gratitude for what was.
This Helps Live Today Free Of Baggage, Or At The Very Least, To Travel Much Lighter. Anchors Away!
Spread Some Joy Today--Let joy be your compass today.
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