Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Here in America this is the one day everyone officially takes time out to spend with close family and friends - usually over a huge feast - and show appreciation for the most important relationships in our lives. I used to think it odd that Thanksgiving and Christmas were shoved so close together at the end of the calendar, but this year it occurred to me that it actually might be a good thing.

             

If we think about it, the Thanksgiving holiday is really about gratitude. It's about taking time to think about the people, events, and things in our lives that we're grateful for. (Like my little orange furry mascot, Tigger.)  I find it absolutely appropriate that this day of reflection comes near that end of the year and just before a time of great giving to others.

If we strip away the feast from Thanksgiving and the mass consumerism from Christmas, what we are left with is the ideas and emotions that made people want to mark these days as special in the first place.

So maybe sometime today take just a few minutes and reflect on this year of 2007. Think about all the people, events, and things you have to be grateful and hold a prayer of thanks in your heart. Let that feeling of gratitude carry over into a lifestyle of giving that lasts for more than a season and cannot help but come back to you many times over.

Love and Turkey To All,

Dave