Well.. We may not be able to give ourselves to dining room tables and conversation with family members this Thanksgiving but we still can give. We can give GRATITUDE. Gratitude may not seem like the most relevant of feelings on your mind right now. Instead we probably feel Fearful, Concerned, Anxious and maybe even Angry. But instead of writhing in our cauldron of ever-present pandemonium, lets take his Thanksgiving to do some Gratitude Giving!
As most of you would be expecting, Thanksgiving means that I would be providing you with science based prose about the benefits of healthy eating; but this year calls for something more in-depth. We need to not only nurture our bodies but also our hearts. Here are 5 ways Gratitude can be integrated into our highly unusual Thanksgiving holiday situation this year.
1. We Need to Accept. Acceptance of the things we cannot change and acceptance of the things we can change. I know there is much we cannot change at the moment, there are some mindfulness and lifestyle things that I know we have been holding on to for some time. For instance, we cannot change that COVID is running rampant in our society and causing sickness and death. But we can accept the fact that our reaction to it will not change the course of its path. We must instead be gracious with ourselves and others, to move through the next period with love.
**And we also need to accept that even though we cannot cook an amazing thanksgiving for our family and friends, we can still have a blast with our spouses and kids all the same!
2. Appreciate all the things. If we look at our human minds, we can see that our knowledge grows the more we understand and appreciate the diversity around us. Ill use language as an example. When we learn a new language we gain a broader APPRECIATION for the culture which it represents. Deeper understanding means deeper appreciation. So take a moment this thanksgiving to appreciate, I mean TRULY appreciate, all the blessings around you. And when it comes to the people in your life, reach out and tell them how much you appreciate them. There is no more satisfying and humble form of gratitude.
**And while you are at it, I want you to appreciate that you have a roof over your head and food to prepare for the holidays. There are so many that do not.
3. Give Of Yourself. Gratitude and Giving go hand in hand. During the holidays we see commercial after commercial leaning on our better senses to give our pocketbooks to those less fortunate. As Americans it is almost a duty to give. But rarely does money fill us with the wholeness we search for in life. While still a important part of our society, I want you to do more . There are always opportunities to give the most precious thing we have, TIME. There may not be direct face to face giving this year but there is still ways to donate your time at food banks, or for your elderly neighbor. What you will find is that the gratitude of giving will be a well-spring of energy for your mind, heart and life.
**Giving food is one of the greatest gifts one can give. Really! To FEED someone is the greatest honor. So While you are preparing healthy food for your family, make an extra dish for a neighbor. let the gratitude flow!
4. Be Honest. Honesty takes fearlessness. But as far as gratitude goes, there is no more impactful connection you can make with another human than to be completely vulnerable and honest with them. It takes courage to be honest. It takes practice to be honest. What you will find though is that all of your relationships will blossom and you will be able to LOVE SO MUCH DEEPER. This pertains to your own relationship with your mind and heart as well. I know that COVID has altered our thinking is crazy ways and we should take this holiday to re-introduce ourselves to who we are and what we have become. Be honest, be LOVE.
**Honesty with food also has a big place at Thanksgiving. If you constantly play the Love/Hate game with yourself and your choices around food, let now be a time where the demons meet and you come to an agreement. There is nothing worse than being conflicted about the way your life is going. Be honest with yourself about what you are going to eat, how you may feel, and what you will do to stay on top.
5. #STAYSTOKED.. Because Happiness and Gratitude are wonderful bedfellows. They go Hand in hand. The act of happiness embodies all the principles of gratitude I have stated above. You need to be fearless, honest, giving, humble and accepting to be HAPPY. This Thanksgiving, above all the politics, shut downs, quarantine, and zoom calls… reconnect with true happiness. You can even reverse engineer the whole process. Think about staying happy ALL THE TIME, and magically gratitude will be the path that gets laid out for you to follow.
**Be happy about the food you make this holiday. All its imperfections and of course celebrate the successes. I know that for me its all about BREAD baby. On thanksgiving Im going to master a perfect loaf!
I love you all so much and hope that this holiday allows you to express the values Ive written of above. You have the power, you have control. Ill be here to love you all the way.
Eric
231120 "5 Principles of Gratitude to Practice This Thanksgiving.
