This is a guest post by Surabhi Surendra.

I can recollect the following prayer we used to sing in school:

“Thank you for the food we eat,
Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you God for everything.”

Since childhood my parents insisted on doing early morning prayers even before setting foot on the ground.  I never did.

I have been a rebellious sort since the very beginning.  But now as I progress towards the later or better half of my life, I have started praying – early morning and late night!

Each morning, as soon as I get up, I look at my young, petite daughter and peck her on the forehead.  I then give a glance to my calm husband, hold his hands for a moment, and say prayers to the one above before I get down from the bed.

Prayer and Being Thankful for Little Things

So many times amidst the hustle-bustle of a busy, crazy, stressful life, we forget the small, little things that are there to give us the smile we want and the strength we need. We ignore their importance and slowly and steadily forget them. Suddenly in a crisis, these small, little things appear on the surface providing us a sense of stability and security. And then, we thank God for giving them to us.

I, on the contrary, thank God for such things when I am happy and content. And I hardly pray to God when I am in trouble. I remember a very dear friend of mine once told me, “Surabhi, I think the problem with you is you don’t pray. You should pray to God whenever you are having a problem but I hardly see you doing that. I believe if you pray sincerely in times of adversity, he will certainly listen to you”.

She was right. I hardly prayed. And in times of difficulty, never! But what could I do? Praying to God in adversity seemed such a mean and selfish thing to me. I could recollect that in happy times I would quietly thank God for bestowing happiness upon all of us but in times of grief, I would either agonize or think, think and think of just getting over it.

Now, after almost 10 years after that conversation, I pray regularly. I thank God every single day (many times in a day) and also miss him and ask for his mercy when I am upset.

The Things I Thank God for Every Day

It is true that as our strings of attachment expand with new relations, new friends, added responsibilities and growing age – we tend to develop faith and beliefs. Since the birth of my daughter, I get frightened easily. Not for myself but always for her. I try to protect her, each moment, and that makes me careful and aware of many dangerous things around. Thus, every morning I thank God for a few things, I believe, I am blessed to have!

1.  Family

A few days ago, TSN asked on Facebook, “What makes you happy?” and my response was, “Happiness around me”. I get very upset when people whom I love are unhappy. I was the eldest of my siblings and thus I was more like a combination guardian and friend to my siblings and cousins. And that is the reason, each time they are upset, I take it upon myself to resolve their problems.

I thank God for giving me a wonderful family with a lovely daughter, loving husband, caring parents and adorable siblings. For me, my family is my strength but also a weakness. Nevertheless, having them around me everyday is a reminder that my world is alive.

We all must love our families and feel gratitude towards them for being there when we need them the most.

2.  Food, Clothes and Shelter

These are supposed to be the basic, essential needs of any human being. Whenever I look at a person who doesn’t have any of these three, I feel sad for him but feel lucky for myself that I have easy and enough access to all of them.

Anyone who is reading this article is fortunate to have a comfortable life that has given him/her food, clothes, shelter (and the Internet).

3.  My Health

I am not very fit (I need to shed a few pounds) but I am not suffering from any serious ailment. This is a good enough reason for me to thank my stars. My mom suffers from arthritis and I can just feel her pain. Still, with her determination and willpower she manages to do a lot of stuff on her own.

I cry my heart out at the sight of a handicapped person. I am glad I can walk on my own, see, hear, speak and take care of myself all by myself.

Health is wealth. This old saying is the truest of all. We all should be grateful to God that we have a healthy life. And if we are not fit and fine, we should work towards it. Being fit is one of the most essential requirements of a happy life.

4.  Gifts of Nature

I live in a place which is lush and green and full of nature. Yellow and orange rays of the sun penetrating through my window wake me up at 5 a.m. and then right outside my home, I see the Saddle Peak (highest mountain peak of this area). Chirping birds, sea waves, cool breeze – all of them give a soothing start to my day. From the bottom of my heart I thank God for creating such beautiful things around us that make us bow to Mother Nature.

Though problems of safe drinking water, malnutrition in children and global warming are on the rise, if we thank God for his creations and respect them, these problems will automatically be tackled.

5.  I, Me, Myself

Last but not least, I thank God for making me who I am. I love myself. I love being what I am. And I am very thankful to God for giving me an opportunity to be able to teach the moral values and qualities that I have.

I believe, it’s extremely important for a person to love himself. Or if for any reason, we are not very happy with what we are, we can improve upon it. There is no harm in developing new habits and becoming the person we always wanted to be. The important thing here is that we should love and respect ourselves in order to love and respect others.

What are you most thankful for in your life?  Leave a comment and let me know.

About the Author: Surabhi Surendra, blogs at womanatics. She lives in Andaman with her family and quit her lucrative day job to pursue her interests. She would be delighted if you follow her on twitter or become a fan!

Photo: Copyright PhotoXpress.com

What are you most thankful for?

This is the traditional time of the year that we stop and reflect on what we have to be thankful for.  I think this is an extremely important exercise for each of us to do.

Our normal, day-to-day lives are so hectic and busy that we seldom slow down long enough to really count our blessings. 

This actually reduces our happiness. 

Intentionally practicing gratitude for all that we have to be thankful for is a free and easy way to increase your overall sense of well-being.  You walk away feeling warm and fuzzy inside.  It is something we should do more often, but at a minimum we have today so, let’s get started.

What I’m Most Thankful for This Year

I believe that writing out a list is the most effective way to really highlight to yourself all of your bounty.  Therefore, in an effort to practice what I preach, I’ve compiled my own list.  I’ll share it with you today in hopes that it kick-starts your own thankfulness.  I’ve kept it simple to show that this doesn’t have to be a big, time-consuming deal.  The payoff, however, is worth every minute you spend.

Here’s my list of the 25 things I am most thankful for this year:

1. My awesome wife who is also my best friend.
2. My two smart, funny and beautiful daughters.
3. My home that keeps me warm and safe.
4. My country where I enjoy a tremendous amount of opportunity and freedom.
5. The peace and security in this country that seems more and more rare in the world.
6. The chance I get to write and freely express my opinions here on this site.
7. That people (like you) actually read what I write and find it useful.
8. My job that enables me to do so much.  Thankfully, I have a job when many do not.
9. My health and soundness of mind  -> (questionable at times).
10. My parents that taught me so much about how to live a great life.
11. That despite tornadoes, earthquakes and winter storms in Oklahoma this year, I’ve escaped all of it without any real trouble.  Many others were not so fortunate.
12. That my cholesterol is back down in the normal range.
13. That my Oklahoma State Cowboys have had their best football season ever.
14. That my kids are doing so well in school.
15. That when I turn on the faucet, clean, fresh water miraculously comes out.
16. That I get to freely worship my God in the way I want, out in the open, without fear of reprisal.
17. That the economy here in Oklahoma has held up pretty well through all this economic turmoil.
18. That I have a warm, soft, clean bed to lay down in each night.
19. The hugs I get from my kids.
20. For the little weekend trips we’ve taken together as a family this year.
21. That I get to work with a bunch of really nice, smart and dedicated people.
22. The feelings that well up inside of me when I hear The Star Spangled Banner.
23. The health insurance I have so my family and I can go to the doctor whenever we need to.
24. The love from all of my family members near and far.
25. And last, but certainly not least, all the FOOD!

So, I’ll ask again, what are you most thankful for this year?  Leave a comment and let me know.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Photo: Copyright PhotoXpress.com

It’s not having what you want.  It’s wanting what you’ve got.
~ Sheryl Crow

When Thanksgiving is over this year and all the hubbub dies down, will our lives be full of contentment and joy or will we make ourselves crazy striving to have just a little more?

When Thanksgiving is over, will we still be truly thankful or will we allow ourselves to slip into ungratefulness?

When Thanksgiving has come and gone, will it have just been a speed bump in the run up to Christmas?

When Thanksgiving comes this year

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.  ~ Buddha

On Thanksgiving, most of us pause, at least just for a moment, to be mindful of the riches in our lives.  We briefly give thanks for family, friends and comforts.  We count our blessings. 

We feast on the bounty of our harvest.  We gather together to say a prayer and to share our excess with loved ones.

For a moment when Thanksgiving is here, we remember the pilgrims that went before us blazing a trail into the promised land.   We think about our forefathers and the sacrifices they made.  We stand on their shoulders and feel proud of our heritage.

When Thanksgiving comes, we make our own annual pilgrimages returning home and to our roots.  We say thanks for how far we’ve come from our humble beginnings. 

When Thanksgiving is upon us, we are thankful.

When Thanksgiving is over this year

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Yes, we are normally pretty thankful on Thanksgiving, but what is going to happen the day after?  It seems that Thanksgiving has become just a rest stop for the race to Christmas.

We all know the day after Thanksgiving is the retailer’s delight.  The stores open earlier and earlier every year.  We go out in throngs shopping and trying to get a good deal.

We fight for parking spaces, wrestle for bargains and overspend our way to nowhere.  Isn’t there a better way to act when Thanksgiving is over?  Here are my suggestions.

When Thanksgiving is over…

• Let’s continue to be thankful for what we have.
• Let’s live within our means.
• Let’s pursue a simpler existence.
• Let’s spend more time with our kids.
• Let’s relish in the company of good friends.
• Let’s agree we have enough.
• Let’s treasure our freedom.
• Let’s be more content.
• Let’s smile and laugh more often
• Let’s stop worrying and live in the present
• Let’s demonstrate our patience
• Let’s offer forgiveness
• Let’s give a little more of our true selves
• Let’s be kinder to others
• Let’s live in peace
• Let’s set an example
• Let’s share with someone that really needs it
• Let’s save some for tomorrow
• Let’s remind ourselves we are blessed
• Let’s continue being thankful!

Thankfulness doesn’t have to end when Thanksgiving does!

I thank God for my handicaps, for, through them, I have found myself, my work, and my God. ~ Helen Keller

We have so many things to be thankful for in our lives.  It is all in our perspective.  It is how we use what we have.  Why not go forward today living a little more thankfully?  Why not set an example for your family and those around you?  Why not try to truly live a few of the items on the list above?

What do you have to be thankful for?  How do you show it?

Here are a few other articles that you might find helpful:
Be Grateful Because We Are So Incredibly Fortunate!
7 Things In My Life That Fill Me With Gratitude and Joy
14 Benefits Of Simplicity That Lead To A Good Life
A Simple Life Is A Good Life – I Believe Less Is More

Photo by xybermatthew