Every year when Thanksgiving grows nearer we are asked what each of us are truly thankful for. Mostly answers include the obvious; our family, friends, our possessions, our homes, our education, etc. Rarely do we reflect on just how necessary our belongings are on a daily basis. It's not uncommon, our lives get busy and we become overwhelmed by balancing stress and the few moments that we have to sit down, sip a cup of coffee and take it all in.
Hence we use Thanksgiving every year as the one day dedicated to reflecting on our lives. But is this holiday event a true sense of who we have become throughout the year. Is it an honest reflection or a simple mirage.
Maybe if we find ourselves sitting around a table with our closest family we reflect on how loved we must feel. If we find ourselves eating leftovers the next day for lunch we reflect on how fortunate we are to have the funds to buy our own food and the time that it takes to prepare each dish.
But, how often on a daily basis do we have a true chance to reflect on our outward behavior and the people that make up our lives. Because let's face it, we don't find ourselves always sitting around the table at a perfect thanksgiving dinner.
Sometimes we find ourselves alone. Sitting somewhere that we don't want to be at all in a place that doesn't feel like home. Surrounded by people who have never treated us like family, yet we continue to let them be in our lives. Sometimes we don't even care enough to phone our parents or our closest friends on a daily basis because we are wrapped up in ourselves and our own lives.
It shouldn't take a holiday, a birthday or even a vacation to show anyone or anything how much you care for them. It shouldn't take a glamorous thanksgiving dinner, an overcooked turkey or a Christmas present to be there for someone. Not an expensive airplane ticket or even a birthday card in the mail. Yes, those are all nice things but at the end of the day It shouldn't take anything at all but love. So start being thankful everyday not just once every 365.
