Thankful

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I’m writing this during the 2020 pandemic, Covid-19, Coronavirus, quarantine, whatever you want to call it or what it might be called historically at this point. Regardless of what you call this time period, you all know what I am talking about. This is also coinciding with one of the biggest civil rights movements in our history. Finally, and entirely too late there seems to be a big push for anti-racism. While this is definitely a positive, there is so much hurt going on right now. It has drastically changed our lives and our world. This time of uncertainty, hurt, and turmoil might seem like a strange time to focus on being thankful, but that is exactly the time to focus on being thankful.

The world is hurting, the United States is hurting, I’m hurting, my friends and family are hurting. It would be so very easy to adopt a doom and gloom outlook on life. There is so much “wrong” it can become overwhelming. If we put our focus on the wrongs, we can drown in the negativity. This is exactly when we need to focus on the many, many things we have to be thankful for. Everyone’s list of things to be thankful for will be different. It is uniquely you, but here are some things on my “Thankful List” right now:

I have a truly spectacular life, but so do you! Regardless of what’s going on, regardless of how easy it is to fall into a “woe is me” trap. We all have so much to be thankful for! Focusing on being thankful is really a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more you focus on all you have to be thankful for, the more you will realize other things you are thankful for. The more of a positive outlook you have, the more positivity that flows your way. Being thankful doesn’t necessarily change your situation, but it can have benefits on your reaction to situations. There are also links to thankfulness and mental health. These connections can also lead to physical health benefits as well. 

Having a thankful attitude attracts others with a similar outlook on life. Being thankful doesn’t mean nothing is wrong. It also doesn’t mean you can’t be justifiably furious or upset about aspects of life. That is healthy as well. Sometimes anger is necessary to make a change or to have the passion to “fix” injustice. The pain or the passion that is occasionally needed doesn’t diminish the importance of reflecting on all that is good and right. We have so many people in our lives that deserve a “thank you”. People are blessings to give thanks for!  We aren’t called to only be thankful on Thanksgiving, we can be thankful every day!

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