Earlier this week, as the calendar turned to November … I received a reminder that this month is National Gratitude Month (which, frankly, was news to me … apparently it had its origins in 2015), and I was led to a lengthy article on how embodying this element in your “outlook” on life and living can only make for better days, both mentally and physically.
I originally wrote on this subject in 2018, then timed to Thanksgiving … which, of course, is just three weeks away — Giving Thanks and Gratitude are really one and the same!
Here are that original Musings, following that I’ll share the two major points I found came out of the article I referenced above:
As you live your days, do you go with a sense of gratitude in your heart?
If you are not quite sure about the subject of “gratitude,” think gratefulness, thankfulness, or simply thanksgiving … giving thanks for all things!
As I dug through my files, looking for relevant messages and thoughts to share at this time of Thanksgiving, the one message that kept showing up was this “Attitude of Gratitude” phrase … and when I went searching for a visual message to lead off with, this one by inspirational and self-help writer Melody Beattie sums up the subject of thankfulness very neatly.
From Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, who was pastor of Marble Collegiate Church in New York City for more than half a century and who wrote the first major “self-help” book, The Power of Positive Thinking, first published in 1952, comes this counsel:
“A basic law: the more you practice the art of thankfulness, the more you have to be thankful for. This, of course, is a fact. Thankfulness does tend to reproduce in kind. The attitude of gratitude revitalizes the entire mental process by activating all other attitudes, thus stimulating creativity.”
This is a somewhat edited version of a message that was heard by listeners to more than 100 radio stations across America on Thanksgiving Day 1977:
Thanksgiving. A day that carries with it all the aromas of mother’s kitchen. It’s bunches of autumn-colored ears of corn and horns of plenty. It’s a day to count our blessings. We have so much to be thankful for today … and proud of. We’ve come a long way since Plymouth Rock. Our country has offered its shores to land on, reached out, and helped not only our own but others as well. We have truly become the great land of opportunity the Pilgrims settled. We may jokingly call it “Turkey Day” … but that image of the browned roast turkey is a traditional symbol of our land of plenty and prosperity. This is the day to be thankful for the blessings we so easily enjoy. May this thoughtful Thanksgiving spirit let us enjoy a happy thanksgiving every day of the year!
Are these traditions from “days of old” written about here still relevant in today’s world? How many households still celebrate this holiday in this same manner here in 2018 … does yours?
Before I close, let me share these words as spoken by Reverend Mark Adams, Pastor of Redland Baptist Church in Rockville, Maryland:
“Attitude can have an incredible impact on our lives. The longer I live the more I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond. And because this is true, I believe that the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude. It is more important than my past, my education, how much money I have in the bank, my successes or failures, what other people think of me or say about me. Attitude is more important than any of these things.”
Is your heart filled with a spirit of thankfulness, of gratitude for what you have? If not, it is my prayer that there’ll be a change in your life in the near future … so that each morning you can arise and thankfully count your blessings!
The headline at the top of this page ties directly to the article How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain which addresses several aspects surrounding gratitude, two of which I feel are relevant to share here:
- The authors write “Gratitude unshackles us from toxic emotions” … which I define as having the burden of negative thinking, eventually leading to some form of depression. I can’t say this is the total answer, but Irving Berlin addressed a way to get on the road to positivity! Many think of this as being a Christmas song, but it’s good all year round — here’s Bing Crosby as he sung it to Rosemary Clooney in the 1950’s movie, White Christmas:
I don’t know about you, but for me, as the years continue to roll by, I cannot stop counting the “blessings” which seem to roll into my life and have through so much of it. On a number of occasions, life seemed to be headed downhill and I couldn’t picture a great outcome … miraculously, something would occur, lifting me up and placing me back on the road I could only call the Gratitude Highway!
- Back to the article: The authors also did a research project with a small group of college students struggling with mental health concerns … which involved each writing a letter to a person to whom they were grateful, were thankful and appreciative for whatever that person had provided them — without the requirement of ever mailing or delivering the letter. Results showed that many of the writers experienced an improved mental outlook over a period of time, simply gained from the process.
Now it’s your turn … what are you thankful for, can say you are grateful for? Hopefully, you can say “many things.” Do you regularly “count your blessings?” If not, why not? If you haven’t tallied them recently, find time to do so real soon. And, even take time to write them down so they won’t soon be forgotten.
If you feel so inclined, I’d love to hear from you — no need to share private thoughts, yet let me know that you have gratefulness in your heart … and if you found these Musings to be meaningful.
As always, thank you for reading!
Hi Mr. Taylor. Great story and Thank You for sharing this wonderful reminder of how much we need to be grateful for. The very breath in our lungs, the food we’re able to eat, the loving people in our lives and most of all, our Precious Savior, who gave us the greatest love of all…Himself. Amen. May the LORD continue His bountifulness in your household and all the people you have touched with His Love. Dan
Thanks, Dan. Here’s wishing you and all the gang at Teen Day a joyous Thanksgiving and a hope that all will find happiness each day of the year, as we all have so much to be thankful for.