Gratitude—365 Days Per Year

Photo Credit to Giftpundits.com on Pexels

Photo Credit to Karolina Grabowska on Pexels

While I think the idea of getting together with family and friends next week to celebrate Thanksgiving is a beautiful tradition, it has always struck me odd that there is only one holiday that focuses primarily on gratitude. Does this mean we should be miserable and complain about our lives the other 364 days? What if we flipped our level of appreciation on its head and were thankful 364 days instead of 1?

I feel blessed to have so many special people in my life. I’m grateful to have a roof over my head, but material things aren’t critical to my happiness. It’s all about spending quality time with family and friends.

Does anyone else think there’s a weird symbolism that the day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday? In one day, we go from being thankful for our blessings to racing other people to the stores so that we can acquire more stuff before someone else gets the deal. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with people trying to get a good buy, it’s sad that all the goodwill from the day before gets tossed aside so easily.

Photo Credit to Max Fischer on Pexels

I’m grateful for the fantastic people I worked with during my career. We fed off the positive energy of each other. I’ve seen the reverse thing happen too. I worked with a couple of “Negative Nancy” types who never seemed happy unless they could complain about something. Those attitudes can infiltrate a staff and bring others around them down to their level. What are some of the best ways we can show our gratitude? I’ve come to realize it’s through our own actions in the simplest of ways. I saw this video a few years back that teaches us the concept better than any words I write can do.

Former President John F. Kennedy is famous for uttering the words, “Ask not what can your country do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” What if everyone adopted such an attitude, but on a smaller scale? What if the idea was, “What can I do for my community or someone in my community? Imagine the difference such a philosophy might make.

I pride myself on being a positive person. To me, that is the only way to go through life. We can all get in a funk from time to time, but when I don’t feel my usual upbeat self, I look for ways to change my mood. First, I try to get outside and take part in some exercise. That could be anything from shooting a few hoops to riding my bike or taking a walk. Even something like working in the yard feels like a win-win when I work up a sweat and beautify my surroundings. If limited by weather or health constraints, we can find indoor exercises that match what we can do. Some of my favorites are swimming, going to the gym, and playing racquetball or pickleball.

Photo Credit to Tom Swinnen on Pexels

Another winning strategy that improves my mood is to look for ways to help the community. Surrounding myself with other like-minded individuals enhances those feelings. When the pandemic began, I started walking more than at any time in my life. It helped both my physical and mental health. I have my regular routes and places I like to walk. Some of the regular followers of my blog may remember me writing about one such gentleman named Jack Storm. I didn’t know him at the time, but I kept seeing this older gentleman who appeared to be about 80-years-old moseying along unsteadily with one of those hand-held contraptions picking up trash. He had an outgoing personality and gave an enthusiastic hello to anyone passing by. I’m a naturally curious person, and I decided to introduce myself.

I got much more than I expected. It turned out that Jack was operating under the same philosophy of trying to do something positive for his community while exercising. His doctor had recommended that he be more active, and Jack was following orders while doing something productive. We talked for a few minutes, and I discovered we shared something else in common. His wife was my high school English teacher. It was one of those wondrous life moments where I wondered, were we meant to cross paths?

Photo of Jack Storm Cleaning up Trash in Eureka, CA

As a former teacher, I’ve always been a supporter of literacy. I belong to the Humboldt Children’s Author Festival Committee. It’s a remarkable group that flies in 25 nationally known children’s authors biennially to talk to kids about their books and the life of an author. Through grants and fundraising, we not only fly the authors in, but we put them up at a fancy hotel while they’re here. I’ll admit I felt a little self-conscious (at first), being the only male on the approximately 25 team committee, but I got over that a long time ago. As I like to say, there are worse things in life than getting together with several great ladies who are equally committed to literacy.

Part of the Humboldt County Children’s Festival Committee in Eureka, CA

I’ve always been a believer in the “Pay it Forward” concept. Not only do our actions help someone else, but they often impact others to do the same. When we hold a door open for someone, wave the waiting car to go in front of us, compliment someone genuinely, or greet others with a smile, we are spreading kindness. It is the simplest of gestures that often carry the most impact.

If you’re like me, even commercials can motivate us to want to be a better person. This is one of my favorites from a few years back. One wouldn’t know that it’s a commercial about life insurance from watching it, but it certainly hits the mark in creating feelings of empathy.

Depending on Covid and the situation in your community, you may or may not be able to spend Thanksgiving with family and friends. If the last two-plus years have taught us anything, we should not take gatherings like this for granted. I’m going to remind myself to feel gratitude even if we overeat, drink too much (please call a cab), or have to listen to some relative’s political ramblings. Remember the many families that wish they had this opportunity but have lost a loved one.