Giving Thanks

" If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily." - Gerald Good

Some months back I wrote about shifting your perspective when it came to pursuing your God-inspired dreams. The main idea of the post was that sometimes we have to make slight adjustments in the way in which we see things in order to get to where we want to go.

With the Thanksgiving holiday just two days away, many people are perhaps busy preparing to celebrate the day with good food, family, and friends. But there are other people who may feel that it’s just another day and believe they really may not have much to be thankful for due to the struggles and challenges this year may have brought them.

This post is for those who doubt that there is anything to be thankful for. And while I could list many things one could be thankful about, I won’t. Instead, I will offer you the idea that the ability to give thanks is rooted in making a slight shift in your perspective.

At its core, giving thanks is about perspective and how you choose to see the world. To be honest, it is easier to find all the things that are wrong. But it takes more effort to find the things that are right. And the payoff in doing so is beyond measure. Taking on the posture of thanksgiving lifts your spirit, reduces the heavy load you carry in your heart about the things that are not right in your life and feeds the idea of possibility; that if I can recognize a few things to be grateful for imagine what more is waiting for me.

The apostle Paul wrote in his letters about finding contentment and gratitude during his years of incarceration. In a place of darkness, where it would have been easy to live without hope and to allow the wrongs of his life to be the guiding force, Paul chose a different perspective. He held on to the good things in his life, the love of God and gave thanks for even the difficult situation he found himself in.

Paul and many other people who endured challenges and struggles, yet lived lives clothed in contentment and gratitude, are examples of what happens when we choose a different way in which to see our lives. Making the slight adjustment in your perspective begins with the moment you are currently in. With new eyes look for the good in the moment. Hold onto what you find. Come back to what you discover often and build on it by finding other moments in your life where thanksgiving can be offered up.

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I found this video that speaks to giving thanks and gratitude from a different perspective, I hope you enjoy it.

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