When Thanksgiving Comes And Goes What Then?

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• Tags: contentment, envy, greed, joy, Leadership, satisfaction, thanks, Thanksgiving

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