Giving Thanks at Thanksgiving
I love Thanksgiving! Even if it's just an excuse for you to have a day off work to spend time with your family, how great is that? (We're celebrating at Jordan's parents' home with all his siblings - so fun! The boys usually get up early and play football. And I'll be making my annual apple pie!) I've always felt like Thanksgiving is the perfect lead into the Christmas season. If I focus on gratitude and embrace the spirit of Thanksgiving, it carries me through the chaos and excitement of Christmas with a little more compassion and love. As a beautiful hymn says so perfectly:
"Because I have been blessed by
thy great love dear Lord;
I’ll share thy love again
According to thy word;
I shall give love to those in need,
I’ll show that love by word and deed;
Thus shall my thanks be thanks in deed."
My goal for Thanksgiving is to try to fully appreciate my many blessings so that I will be ready to bless others if I can. Practicing gratitude makes me feel peace and love, and when I feel peace and love, I am more likely to look outwards and try to help others. And that's really what life is all about, right? Maybe I'm getting a little sappy, but there have been so many tragic things happening lately, I'm trying to find ways to hold onto light and love.
To anyone going having a rough go of things right now, who is going through a tough transition or period of uncertainty, or even just straight up pain, I feel for you. My thoughts and prayers are with you. I just wanted to share something that was brought to my mind during a guided meditation session a few weeks ago. Emotions are often "and/both" not "either/or". We're complex creatures and our thoughts and feelings are equally complex. It is possible to be grateful and still feel sadness. It's possible to feel hopeful and still feel lost. It's possible to feel love and still feel disconnection. If this season brings up conflicting feelings for you, that's okay. Don't try to force the "positive" feelings to drown out the "negative" ones. Both pain and joy can co-exist and both can be true. Embrace it, love yourself, and just do your best.
"Being grateful in times of distress does not mean that we are pleased with our circumstances. It does mean that through the eyes of faith we look beyond our present-day challenges.
This is not a gratitude of the lips but of the soul. It is a gratitude that heals the heart and expands the mind."
- Dieter F. Uchtdorf
- I am so grateful for my body. In growing this baby, I have a whole new level of appreciation for it. I mean, pregnancy really is a miracle. I try to take care of myself, but I don't consciously know how to grow a baby, and my body just does it. It's been incredible to experience and focusing on that has also helped me stay in a really good head space as my body's started to look different.
- I am grateful for Jordan. This has been a busy year for us. Lots of traveling, me changing jobs, starting this social media venture, getting pregnant - there's been a lot of big changes over here. And Jordan is just solid. Thank you for keeping me grounded and making me laugh.
- I'm grateful for all the personal growth I've experienced this year. It has been really, really uncomfortable at times, but I feel like I'm growing into who I'm supposed to be. I've tried some new things (like guided meditation) and been forced to try other things (like slowing down) and I'm feeling more balanced and more centered with myself. It hasn't been easy, but it's definitely been worth it.
- I am grateful for this little online community I've been getting to know. So many of you inspire me everyday and make me excited for all the things the future could possibly hold. Thank you for your honesty, your love, and your support.
As always, I highly recommend that you try starting a gratitude practice. A gratitude practice is a physical act of expressing and feeling gratitude, as opposed to just having "an attitude of gratitude". Why not try The Alison Show's guided gratitude meditation on the podcast app? (You can listen to it here or just search "The Alison Show" in the podcast app.) Or try keeping a gratitude journal this next week? Even just going around the Thanksgiving table and having everyone share something they're grateful for counts! I promise it will change your state of mind and bring you peace and understanding.
Happy Thanksgiving lovelies! I hope you feel blessed this week and always.
XOXO,
Claire