As the holiday season is officially in full swing, and Christmas is practically staring us square in the face, have you stopped to actually be grateful?

Every year since I was old enough to remember, I was asked at least once around the holiday season if I was grateful for all I had. Generally it was my old fashioned, heart of gold grandmother who made sure I paused in my footsteps to be thankful for everything I got to experience during the holidays. As the years have passed, for the first time this year I was stopped in my footsteps by another means than my grandmother to be absolutely overwhelmed with thanks.

In the midst of credit card spending on piles of gifts for family and friends, an overwhelming amount of carb loaded food and a warm house filled with a towering Christmas tree, its hard to imagine a life without all of it.

A sense of what I compare to a feeling of guilt flooded my chest when I was approached about extra shoes and socks for a family who had none. I was in the middle of wrapping Christmas gifts and organizing all of my clothes after coming home for the holidays. I was sitting with hundreds of dollars worth of gifts and clothes at my feet with tags still on them, while someone within miles from me was quietly asking for used socks.

The method to my madness of this simple message is that the majority of us spend a minute or two to think about how thankful we are, but the problem growing in our society today is the small minority of us will actually do something to help more people have something to be grateful for.

It's so easy to turn your head and ignore the call for help, most likely right in front of your eyes, but the little effort it takes to help someone else be genuinely grateful this holiday season is absolutely priceless.

Don't forget to be grateful this holiday season, and by that I do not mean a surface level recognition of your appreciation for the gifts you receive and the food you ate. Do something for someone you may never have met face to face this Christmas. Sometimes it takes being a part of something bigger than yourself to genuinely experience what gratefulness feels like.