The Thanksgiving holiday is upon us once more. I haven’t really celebrated it much since I have been in the UK these last 20+ years. They don’t celebrate it here. People don’t take the day off and I haven’t known that many Americans to celebrate it with. No excuse, I know. Just because I hadn’t always celebrated in the traditional manner, it doesn’t mean that I didn’t take time out to reflect and offer gratitude.
I have tried to make more of an effort to celebrate Thanksgiving in the traditional sense these last few years. This year I am making a roast chicken dinner as I will be having turkey for Christmas. I don’t like to get turkey’d out! I am also making pumpkin pie. My daughter and I bought all the tins of pumpkin in my local supermarket one afternoon. When I got home, I found I already had two cans from last year that were still good! I may be eating a lot of pumpkin soup over the next few months!
Because Thanksgiving isn’t celebrated in the UK, my day will be fairly quiet. There won’t be any distractions of parades and American football. The people I will be celebrating with will be working during the day. It will be an intimate dinner rather than a full-fledged family gathering.
When people think of Thanksgiving, huge amounts of food and football are usually in the picture. Sometimes we forget the real meaning of the holiday. When people experience problems or huge challenges in their daily lives, it can be difficult to find something to feel grateful for. When things are going well, people often forget to give thanks for their good fortune. We need to take a little time out every day to look around us and find something to feel grateful for. When we do that, we feel happier. When we feel gratitude for even the smallest things, we allow more of the good things to come into our lives.
This year I am particularly grateful that I am now living in a lovely warm house and have had the opportunity to make a fresh start. I am also grateful to have reconnected with some more of my family. There is a lot more to be grateful for and the list is very long. I am always finding things to add to it.
So, instead of feeling grateful on one particular day of the year, perhaps we should try it every day, and see what happens!
By the way, thanks for reading this post! xx
Arlene's New Beginning 