Last week was Thanksgiving Day and I had great intentions of writing a post on how to celebrate with your family. Instead our Thanksgiving Day looked a little different than I expected.
Our little was sick with an upper respiratory infection he caught from me. We actually decided not to go to our family dinner twice! After being up all night with a sick who turned grumpy in the morning, I for one didn’t feel very social let alone thankful. The one day of the year when we are supposed to count our blessings and I was actually feeling pretty selfish from lack of sleep then changed plans. When I tried to make a list of things I was thankful for it was obvious but not filled with the warm fuzzies of a holiday:
- Sure I was actually really thankful we didn’t end up at the hospital when we had a scare with a sick little the night before.
- Of course I am so thankful for the gift of my little family (no matter how sleep deprived we all are.)
- And yes I am thankful for all the coffee which my husband poured me to get through the day.
This made me realize how true it is that we shouldn’t spend just one day of the year feeling thankful. Its so easy for things to get in the way and distract us from being thankful. So shouldn’t we practice it more often? Just like a growing muscle we should feed and strengthen it throughout the year.
Did you know there are benefits from a life of thankfulness? Both physically and psychologically you will benefit from thankfulness. Because thankfulness both reduces emotions and hormones that cause stress to the body. It will cause you to feel better mentally, your body will feel less pain, it will even help you sleep better. (And who doesn’t love a good nights sleep?).
Here is my challenge to you. Will you try living a Life of Thankful with me? Not just during the holiday season but the whole year through. My goal is to take just a few moments a day to stop and jot down what I'm thankful for. It doesn’t have to be anything big, it could be little, silly or even common. For me it will be part of my coffee time in the morning because I know that's something won't miss during the day. ;) How about you? Will you join me? I’m sure you’ll be pretty “Thankful” you did.