Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Thanksliving

Ok, seems I have just a little more to say about gratitude. Yes, I do have, and use, spellcheck. ‘Thanksliving’ is correct. It’s a concept that is becoming popular, in part because wise women like my friend, Marcia Walker, Life Coach Extraordinaire, are looking at their lives and asking themselves, “Whazzzup?” aka “How can I create a more joyful life?”


The frequent answer that Marcia and others come up with is to accept the people and circumstances in their lives EXACTLY as they are, and then take it one step further and be grateful for those people and circumstances.


It does not mean ignoring the bad things that are obviously a part of our world (such as war, injustice, violence, hunger - need I go on?). It means seeing things realistically and being grateful anyway. The gratitude comes from a reservoir of compassion that lives inside of us, not as a reaction to conditions outside of us.


Certainly there are conditions that we recognize as intolerable and not worthy of our gratitude. But instead of focusing on these things beyond doing what we can to change them, Thanksliving requires us to search within for reasons to be grateful. I’m not saying this is easy! I am saying that the more you make it a habit to look for opportunities to be grateful, the happier you will be.


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