thanksgiving
November 6, 2013 § 6 Comments
November marks a conscious effort for many to count the days with acknowledgement of thanks; publicly or privately we create space for gratitude. I scribble little notes of thanks on my daughter’s lunchbox napkin, weighting us in a moment of gratitude from the different corners of our days. I do this in the spirit of Thanksgiving, drawing her eyes to our good fortune.
More importantly I move in gratitude throughout my days, unbound by the seasons. I use a language of gratitude when I speak and I weight my correspondence with a thankful spirit. I practice thanksgiving in much the same way one might lean into a yoga posture to create balance and flexibility, strength and grace; responding to my environment mindful of my blessings least I allow challenges to distract me from a sense of self fortified in faith.
Each day I thread my skies with silver linings to better appreciate the shapes of clouds that cast shadows, seeking and giving thanks in word and action.
scribblechic 
On that theme I’d like to share a happy discovery I’ve made much too late in life. Since being a kid I’ve never had a problem lending a hand to others–I was taught that is an expectation. I have never been comfortable in asking for it, though. It turns out that’s misguided. Asking for help–and I stress “when it’s appropriate”–is a very positive thing. Besides ensuring that your goals are met it also cements friendships. Good friends and colleagues, it turns out, are generally happy to help when you make reasonable requests. It affirms their value to not just you but in general. That said, when a friend helps, a heartfelt expression of gratitude cements it in. That expression doesn’t have to be a grand gesture–it should instead be the things you just described. LOL–and I imagine that’s what triggered the thought.
I like to think that in friendship Thanks and Giving rest on two ends of a lever, where Respect is the fulcrum. Asking for help we teeter a bit, giving our friends an opportunity to lend balance.
I love the idea of approaching gratitude like yoga. That really gives me something to think about.
Like any posture, gratitude comes more naturally with practice and lends strength and flexibility over time.
Confession: I more nimble in expressions of gratitude than yoga.
It’s beautiful, this idea of Thanksgiving being a thread woven throughout each day, a purposeful way of living that shifts our focus from the challenges to the blessings. Wonderful, Marie!
Thank you, Tarissa! I owe this perspective to my mother who has always been rich in Pollyannaisms even when poor in worldly possessions.