Let’s Be Thankful On Thanksgiving

Dear Readers:

Thanksgiving is a good time to step back and appreciate the many positive things that have happened to you or perhaps because of you during this last year.

Have you gotten married, lost some weight, had a child, learned a new skill or hobby, successfully competed in a sporting event or received a promotion at work? Perhaps one of your children graduated from high school or college, you were able to retire comfortably or you became a grandparent.

What about the things that you have done to help someone else either directly or indirectly? Have you served others in your career as a minister, teacher or doctor? Did your skilled labor help construct a facility to help others live, work or play? Did you make charitable donations to organizations such as a church, university or agency in an effort to provide assistance to other people? Others may be giving thanks to you for your contribution to them. Giving of your time and talent brings joy to you as your focus is away from yourself to others. Self-absorption creates a mindset making thankfulness difficult.

Keep your perspective on gratitude broad. If you have a job, be thankful because many people are out of work. If you have good health, be grateful as illness and infirmity can make life difficult. If you live in a free society, be grateful. Consider those people in the world whose lives, choices and decisions are out of their control.

Psychologist Robert A. Emmons reminds us that thankfulness helps us see that we are objects of love and care that can boost our self-esteem.

Philip Watkins, another psychologist, says that gratitude may enhance emotional healing by lessening the focus on traumatic, troublesome thoughts.

We all know that children mirror the environment around them. Parents who express thankfulness on a routine basis in the child’s presence pass this outlook and behavior on to their offspring. For example, a parent can express gratitude to a salesperson for their assistance, the child’s teacher for a job well done or a neighbor for their help.

Grateful people routinely express higher levels of positive emotions and optimism and lower levels of stress and depression.

Thankfulness comes from focusing on life’s blessings instead of on life’s disappointments and thanksgiving is an excellent time for all of us to begin to make thankfulness our year-around outlook.

Happy Thanksgiving.