So, what are you thankful for this year and who are you thanking for it? In my world of metaphysics, where we teach that each of us creates our own reality, one could legitimately wonder, “Should I be thanking myself for all the good things and people in my life?” Still, in the vast majority of homes and in most religions, and spiritual traditions, we thank an entity outside of ourselves, which implies we must have earned or qualified for the blessings in our lives in some odd way. So then, did those who were not so blessed, not qualify? Who should we be thanking for what?
Maybe Thanksgiving is really about something altogether different. Thanksgiving is a state of mind. it’s really just about a sense of gratitude that implies a connectedness linking us to all of creation. Albert Schweitzer says,” At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us. To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted.”
The well-known author, Melody Beattie says, “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion into clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” Being in thanks giving and gratitude are acts of living appreciation.
Living in a sense of gratitude changes everything in your life. Notice I didn’t say “living with” a sense of gratitude because to be truly grateful one must embody the feeling, not just be with it. However, is being grateful utterly ridiculous given the circumstances that we are living with today? Not really. There are more consciousness teachers responding to today’s crisis than ever before. There are more books and movies, CD’s and DVD on the issues of compassion, integrity and honesty than ever before. It is nearly impossible to sit with anyone and not eventually get to the issues of major life changes that are happening today as people revisit their priorities and reexamine what they used to think was important. The challenges that we are dealing with today have created an opportunity for quantum leaping into higher states of consciousness. We are no longer able to ignore the vicious cycle of violence in the world and thousands have joined in the fight against unconscious acts of inhumanity. We are making changes, good ones. An active practice of gratitude can quite literally change the world.
Gratitude and thanks giving are also deeply personal. They are centered on our own heart condition and state of awareness. It’s not about being egotistical, but rather humble. It’s about embracing the hard lessons and the small joys. It’s about being thankful for a level of awareness that knows how important the people in our lives can be and treating them and yourself with a sense of reverence. It’s about taking care of our planet, our homes, and our four-legged creatures. It’s about having a sense of the sacred in our personal lives and not waiting too long to express it. For some things, we simply don’t want to wait too long. This is one of them. Gratitude increases a sense of health, expansiveness and wonder. It pushes at the outer limits of your heart and asks you to change. It’s a journey toward enlightenment.
What is it that you love in your life right now? What is it that you could not, would not want to live without? What great lessons have changed the very fiber of your being and pushed your soul forward. What people have stood their ground and stayed through everything? These are the gifts for which we must feel great thanks giving. As John Kennedy says, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” We are grateful that each of you has given us a way to fulfill our purpose. Happy thanks giving and love to all.
© Dr. Dina Bachelor Evan 2016. All rights reserved. No part of the intellectual property of Dr. Dina Evan may be reproduced, placed on mechanical retrieval system, transmitted in any form by electronic, video, laser, mechanical photocopy, recording means or otherwise in part or in whole, without written permission of the author. Contents are fully copyrighted and may not be owned by any other individual or organization.