Gratitude Adjustment

It's the Tuesday before the week of Thanksgiving. I feel like time is slipping away...before I know it, we'll be on a plane to Kansas {my home} to visit with family and friends...a few days away from the office will be a first for me {besides my European adventure, but we won't count those days}. Once Thanksgiving is here, it's all a slippery slope - November fades into December, and once December is here, the year is over. Blah.

{self-talk moment: I thought I loved the holidays, I sound super negative right now...but really, I am not negative, I hope it doesn't come across that way}

The one thing I do truly love about Fall is the energy in the air. I can physically feel it. I love to make hearty soups, curl up by the fire and cozy the night away. I have to give my mind the opportunity to decompress and process life. It's my time to reflect on the many things that are going well in my life and be grateful for the wonderful life I live. I think I need a "gratitude adjustment."

Gratitude is a tricky word, it is a lot more complex than I think we give it credit for. It's a pretty stellar word once you think about it and actually break down what it truly means. I came across the quote below the other day and it really stuck with me.

“Gratitude is one of the least articulate of the emotions, especially when it is deep." - Felix Frankfurter

I am not the most expressive person, I am more of a listener than a talker. "They" say still water runs deep. That's more "me"...I'm not the best conversationalist but I love people and enjoy the company of others. So for me to be able to articulate my gratitude, it's a bit more challenging than it may be for others.

This is certainly the season for being appreciative and humbled at all of the many blessings we experience in our lives. While things may not be perfect, we can all think of how they might be worse. To dive deeper into the spirit of the season, I decided that for myself, I would to clarify the line between “being thankful” and “having gratitude”.

Being thankful is to acknowledge the contributions of others. While thankfulness symbolizes an understanding of such contributions, it doesn't necessarily represent a deep, heartfelt embrace of the contributions.

Having gratitude is to really feel and embrace the contributions of others as well as the power of the universe in your life. Gratitude moves the mental acknowledgement of being thankful to a deep feeling representing the meeting of "intellect" and "soul". That was kind of deep, sorry...

So, as we head into the holiday season, I'd like to challenge us all to ask ourselves, "Do I need a gratitude adjustment?" I am going to make a concerted effort to be thankful and have gratitude for the multiple blessings in my life. I could make a big list and share it with everyone, but that wouldn't be "me"...I think I'll keep this list in my heart and in my mind...

xoxoxo,

Sam