Message # 113 Giving Thanks

When talking about Thanksgiving, do you often say one or more of the following?…

“I don’t want to spend time with my family; they annoy me.”

“I have to prepare so much food, help out around the house; I’m going crazy.”

“I have to drive sooo far to my relatives’ house.”

“There’s going to be so much food and I’m going to gain so much weight.”

“I HATE turkey!”

Now, although those feelings may be true, it is your choice whether or not you dwell on them and let them bother you. I have negative thoughts all the time, but I accept them and immediately think about them in a positive way.

If you have to drive far, think of it as a good time to listen to a good audio book in the car; or if there is going to be so much food, think of it as having many options; if your family drives you crazy, think about all the people in the world that don’t even HAVE families.

Thanksgiving is a time of appreciation and gratitude. If you are reading this, you have the gift of life. Don’t just go through life merely existing and WANTING materialistic things. True happiness comes from helping others and expressing appreciation and gratitude to everyone you come in contact with. Treat everyone the same, regardless of how they treat you; if they are good to you, love them back; if they are cruel to you, love them back.

“all communication is either a loving response or a cry for help.”

It’s easy to give love to someone who is good to you, but if you give love to someone who is not good to you, and you do it long enough, you will change their attitude and their intensity will disappear.

One of the things that changed my life is when I began incorporating gratitude in my life. I started appreciating everything in my life, especially the little things. But it’s like anything else, you can’t just do it once – you have to do it every day. Honestly, every day is Thanksgiving to me and happiness is always with me.

Much appreciation and gratitude for reading.