Giving Thanks: The Two Parts of Thanksgiving
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0Happy Thanksgiving week, OP Nation!
In the heart of thankfulness and gratitude, I want to encourage you to take time this week as you head into the holiday to be intentional about expressing your gratitude for those around you. As I’m reflecting on what this looks like in my own life, I believe that there are two parts to thankfulness.
First, taking inventory of who and what you are thankful for. Far too often we speed along in the busyness of our days without slowing down long enough to take in our surroundings and do an audit on our life. Anyone can find something to be thankful for if you take the time to look for it. Whether it’s spending some quiet time reflecting or making a list of everything as it comes to mind, get after grateful in your life.
But Thanksgiving is about more than just thankfulness. The second part is the giving away of thanks that is just as important, if not more important than reflecting on your gratitude. As I was thinking through this post and the upcoming holiday, I came across a quote from William Arthur Ward, in which he said:
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”
Whether or not you are the “words of affirmation” type, we as humans all long to be accepted, appreciated and loved. While there are most certainly people in our lives that we feel especially thankful for, how often do we take the time to be intentional, reach out, and let them know we feel that way? It’s just as much about the giving it away as it is about thethanks.
This week as you spend time with family, friends and your fellow co-workers, be careful not to underestimate the power of expressing gratitude for those around you. Don’t just wrap up those thankful thoughts and hold them for yourself! The world and all of us in it could use the reminder that we have a significant role to play & that we’re seen, known and appreciated.
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