The week of Thanksgiving just came to an end, but is that an excuse for us to stop being thankful? No, of course not. Thanksgiving is a time to highlight the virtue of thankfulness.

“A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.”
Marcus Tullius Cicero

Sadly I feel, we as a people, take much for granted; later on we will suffer the consequences unless we express our thankful thoughts.

I know there’s much in my life which I haven’t shown my thankfulness towards. But, the first-step is to acknowledge that there is change needing to be made… and I am making that transition. In fact, for the past several years I have been focusing on that transition.

That’s what I find most beautiful about life; development; personal growth; a time when an individual can experience a different way-of-life, which can put into perspective what one should be thankful for.

I am so thankful for my friendships throughout my life.

… even for the ones that come-and-go. Friendship was a central pillar in my life… coming from a broken-family-background it meant even more to me. And even then, I still took for granted some of these relationships which meant so much… oh the troubles we would all put each other through. On the positive-side, I like to reflect upon these thoughts because I feel they were moments of character building… which leads me to my next thought:

I am thankful for my past.

Even if my past was riddled with unfortunate outcomes; loss; roller-coaster emotions; there is much that negative experiences try to cover-up, and much of that are the good ones. Why I’m really thankful for my past is because it created who I am today, and who I am becoming tomorrow. The key is to accept yourself for who you were and to know you can make the change for who you want to become.

I am also very thankful for my health.

Health has become a huge topic within my life. In another post I will tell you the history behind why I changed my lifestyle habits. I am very thankful I did; it has allowed me to better connect with myself and the world around me.

Lastly, which this is the one that I need to work on the most, is that:

I am thankful for the family that I have.

This is a really difficult one which I have struggled with for my whole life. I want to say that I’m working on appreciating what I have, and bettering the relationships that I have while time still permits. I’m hoping to redirect the course, and to have a strong sense of family in the future.

There is so much to be thankful for. We have so much in our lives which could easily all disappear. Our lifetime is limited. Please, take a moment to slow down and self-reflect upon your thoughts and feelings.

If interested, read my Cultivation of Good Health to mentally kick-start yourself towards a more balanced life. The Good Life.

Photo by Freaktography, “Thanksgiving After the Fallout“