Inspiration Archives: The Spirit of Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is my very favorite holiday as it serves as a reminder of the importance of gratitude.

Since 1621, our ancestors in the United States have been celebrating Thanksgiving. Historically, throughout Europe, festivals were held after the harvest to give thanks and celebrate together as a community. Native Americans also celebrated the harvest season.

We continue the tradition today nearly 400 years later, but for most of us, when we hear the word Thanksgiving, we usually think of turkey and stuffing, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, football and gatherings with family and friends.

We all know that Thanksgiving is about giving thanks, but yet many times in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we forget the importance of gratitude, not just on Thanksgiving, but every other day as well.

It's not surprising that the most successful and happiest people on the planet are also the ones who practice gratitude on a regular basis. However, what might give one pause, is that the most grateful people are also the most successful and the happiest.

Which came first, the gratitude or the success? Are these people grateful because they're successful, or successful because they're grateful?

According to hundreds of successful luminaries, everything starts with gratitude. Gratitude can turn fear into trust and has the power to turn ordinary into extraordinary.

There is no better way to adjust our attitude than through the practice of gratitude. Knowing that what we focus on today grows into our reality tomorrow, let our hearts and our minds overflow with gratitude.

For no matter where we are in life, there is always a reason to be grateful. Always. And when we practice gratitude, everything else lines up for us almost magically.

However you choose to celebrate Thanksgiving today, consider starting a new tradition in your family. As you sit together with your loved ones, go around the table and share out loud something that you are profoundly grateful for in your life at this very moment. Feel the joy that it brings to you in just thinking about it.

This practice alone will shift your energy from where you are to where you want to be. There is nothing more powerful, or nothing more effective at bringing happiness into our world, than to start by being thankful for where we are right now.

As we enter into this beautiful holiday season and into the new year, let us remember to practice gratitude every day, not just on Thanksgiving. Let gratitude be the first thing on your mind when you wake in the morning, and the last thought you have as you drift off to sleep each night. Talk about it, share it with your loved ones, celebrate it and you will be blessed with even more good things in your life. Make this the first day of a daily practice and watch what happens.

After all, we can all learn something from the most successful and happiest people in the world- and that is to remember that it all starts with being grateful for the many blessings that we have right here, right now.

As you celebrate this beautiful day, may you remember that we have so very much to be grateful for and may your blessings be abundant throughout the coming year. It all starts with simply taking the time to practice gratitude as a way of life.

Hugs,

Gail Lynne Goodwin