We are moving into the season of Thanksgiving, gratitude, family and food. Many of our clients are sharing they feel they are in a dark season of life right now. Understandable, yet controllable. Gratitude is a mindset. We can control what we think to some extent. We can find good in everything. Alice Morse Earle stated, “Not every day is good but there is something good in every day.” You just have to look for it. In all my research for my Are You Enough? Happiness Project, I found the number one path to happiness is gratitude. Any other path following gratitude was debatable, but gratitude was always number one. Where does gratitude come from? From within ourselves. In order to be grateful, we need to be present. Recognizing what we have, what we can do, and who we have in our lives right now.
The hustle and bustle of the holidays are approaching, and we tend to get wrapped up in getting things done rather than appreciating what we already have. Being consumed with what others will think of us or purchasing the best gift. What would happen if we focused on being present with our friends and family members this year? The greatest gift you can give someone else is the gift of yourself-the presence of your own being. We frequently state that relationships are the most important thing in our lives, but do we prove that with our actions? Relationships are not based on presents but on presence. I invite you this Thanksgiving season to share with those you love, care about or even the people you share your community with how grateful you are because they are in your life. Share a few moments of complete presence with them to let them know how important they are to you. We never want to regret missing the opportunity to say what we want to those we care about. Let’s not wait. Say what you feel today…don’t wait for the tomorrow that may never come. A friend once told me, “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” Be sure to give your wrapped present of gratitude this Thanksgiving season.