You hear this word a lot this time of year:
GRATITUDE.
It’s that time of year again- Thanksgiving- and with it the hustle and bustle of people getting ready for family, friends, a big meal, and a day to give thanks.
In our house, it also means my husband going off to play football in the morning, with his 88 year old father and about 15 other men from the area. Then, we’ll put on the football games on the tv that will play in the background in the afternoon. Add to that, a fire in the fireplace, my girls home from college, the smell of turkey, pies to be made…life is so good!
We have experienced the recent loss of a loved and dear one. A couple weeks ago, my mother-in-law passed away. There will be one less person at our holiday table. My husband was her oldest, and he misses her dearly. The rhythm of life continues, but without her here.
Many people this time of year are grieving the loss of a loved one. Holidays make it especially more poignant and painful. There’s a void in our lives. I view it as a void that is an opportunity to be filled with the love, connection, and gratitude that abounds during this time of the year.
We all have the same amount of time in our days to go about doing work, study, fun, reading, meditating– you name it, you can fill your life with it. When we take a moment during our busy days to think and feel grateful for all we have, it changes the way we look at our lives.
Gratitude is so important, particularly in our relationships with friends and family.
To be grateful for someone or something means to focus on the positive and to feel in our heart how much something/someone means to us. A regular practice of gratitude can save a marriage or relationship. Gratitude refocuses us on living our best life.
Gratitude is a form of giving– giving our loving, positive thoughts to those people and things that can so often be taken for granted. Most of us are like little children still- we want to feel loved and appreciated. We want someone to see us and to love us unconditionally. I have that in my relationship with my husband. I’ve cultivated an attitude of gratitude for the love of my life. And I may fall short some times- I’m human. But, my default more often than not, is an overwhelming sense of gratitude that I am married to my soul mate. And, that we have healthy and happy children, a roof over our heads, good food to eat, and that we’re alive to experience all life has to offer.
How about you? What are you grateful for? Would you agree that when you experience gratitude for your partner, you feel more loving and appreciative toward them?