OMG - Not ANOTHER Gratitude Article!?#?!

​Yup, it’s that time of year when columnists, bloggers and media in all its forms capitalize on the season, pulling out their ‘Attitude of Gratitude’ pieces in light of today’s U.S. Thanksgiving celebrations. Every year, for about a week, we read about all the benefits of being grateful.
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We’re reminded of all the studies showing that gratitude, practiced regularly, can lead to: greater happiness, improved relationships, increased physical and mental wellbeing and ever better sleep…
 
Posts and articles will reiterate all sorts of simple ways of introducing more gratitude into our lives, like:

• Keeping a gratitude journal – jotting down several small things each day that you are grateful for.
• Starting your day simply bringing to mind all the important people in your life and your appreciation for them.
• Taking time to say ‘thank you’ in person to colleagues, friends, family, even strangers who offer small kindnesses, for their presence and participation in your day.
• Noting all the things we are so fortunate for, as we enjoy them, right down to the fresh water we drink and roof over our heads that so many tragically lack… and feeling gratitude for these amenities and privileges we often take for granted.

 
The Thanksgiving coverage may also include fun and bonding ways of sharing a gratitude practice with others. E.g. at your table, whether that be celebrating Thanksgiving today or not, each take turns to relay something you are grateful for with fellow party-goers. Or make it a game by everybody writing down a list of three small things they truly appreciate, mixing them all together then having others try and guess who authored each one.
 
But of course, you’re not going to hear any of that stuff from me. I’m not going to jump on that covered-(band)-wagon and write about the importance of gratitude just because it dove-tails nicely with a day's calendar event, am I?
 
Okay, maybe a little. But only because today is as appropriate as any, to recognize the truth that gratitude is a steppingstone to happiness. It is a pathway to personal (and inter-personal) peace as we each recognize that we have enough and we are enough - freeing us from fear and selfishness. Gratitude is the key to putting problems into perspective by reframing our obstacles as learning opportunities.
 
Gratitude's benefits are not for one day, but for everyday. Watching an old Ted Talk from 2011 by Louie Schwartzberg, entitled ‘Nature. Beauty. Gratitude.’ I glimpsed, at soul level, the transformative affects that gratitude enables. I was particularly moved by the inspiring words of Benedictine monk, Brother David Steindl-Rast:
 
“You think this is just another day in your life. It’s not just another day, it’s the one day that is given to you today… and the only appropriate response is gratefulness. If you do nothing else but to cultivate that response to the great gift that this unique day is, if you learn to respond as if it is the first day of your life and the very last day, then you will have spent this day very well.”
 
Spare ten minutes and watch it (here), and remind yourself how simple gratitude can make, not just today, but every day, “a really good day”. 
Happy Thanksgiving!
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p.s. Thank you Turkeys everywhere!!