
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. What are you thankful for?
-Natalie_Joy - Enormous wealth, but not the monetary kind. Family, friends, health, employment, optimism and faith.
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andreaeleitch - I’m grateful to my parents for providing me with a great home and education, I hope I will be able to do the same for my kids!
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retrochique - I'm thankful for my wonderful family and friends!
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willrobinsoniii - I am thankful for four uninterrupted days with my family.
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MarkClayson - Grateful my life has been productive in health and love and that I am able to view the future with optimism.
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shopbatty - Lil sis eloped. Grateful to meet my new brother-in-law for the first time this Thanksgiving!
-babyluvgifts - I'm grateful for my health, and that of my 2 daughters and my husband.
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sedruola - I'm thankful for family, friends and the peace I feel even in the midst of becoming unemployed. . . life is really good!
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jnpottery - I'm thankful for my wonderful family, and all of my very supportive online friends! Etsy, Twitter & Finer Kitchens foodies.
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VioletDelirium - I'm grateful for the support from my family (specifically my husband) to do what I love and love what I do.
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chichiboulie - Children's views of the world.
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SewDanish - I'm grateful because I live a positive, happy, healthy and creative life with a wonderful husband and great friends.
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journeyoflove - Grateful for family and friends, being employed, a roof over my head, and finding new things to learn about in life.
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JNilsson - I am grateful for my ever supportive family & friends, the gifts & talents God has blessed me with & for living my dream.
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tmusichans - I am thankful for 2 great kids. A wonderful partner in life. Supportive creative folks who fuel my creativity! Peace!
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RDEMarketing - Being surrounded by wonderfully supportive family and friends.
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mrsmapp What else!! A wonderful husband and 2 great kids. Their health and positive emotion (plus my job) have made my life +++.
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2kutekreations I am thankful for my family and for my wonderful nation, land that I love.
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HarpArora Canadian but grateful :) For new hope in this world, for barriers coming down that separate us from each other & nature.
These are all messages from people I've met through the social networking site Twitter (http://twitter.com/phyllismufson). I sent a note this morning asking what people are grateful for and I've had lovely messages trickling in all day.
I have so much to be grateful for. What about you?
Gratitude is a habit I practice because when I am feeling truly grateful I feel most deeply myself. Just a little of what I am grateful for:
- My husband Bill who loves me unconditionally.
- My growing desire to serve, and the tools I've learned to help others. I've always wanted to make an impact and now I do, more and more.
- My family, friends, clients...who have taken me into their lives.
- The challenges I've faced that have shown me my resources.
How can you make a practice of gratitude?
Here are a few ways you can cultivate gratitude at Thanksgiving, and in your daily life. Please feel free to add more suggestions - and also what you are grateful for.
- Start your Thanksgiving dinners by having each guest talk about what they are grateful for. This creates a wonderful atmosphere of intimacy.
- Keep a daily gratitude journal or list. It can be really simple, a few words as a reminder or more elaborate.
In an experimental comparison, those who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week ...(Emmons & McCullough, 2003). - Stop and reflect daily on what you are grateful for. Pick a regular time and create the habit.
Participants in a study of daily gratitude habits were more likely to report having helped someone with a personal problem or having offered emotional support to another.To close, here's a great article from the blog Zen Habits, "Tremendously Important Ways That Gratitude Can Change Your Life."
http://zenhabits.net/2008/10/8-tremendously-important-ways-that-gratitude-can-change-your-life/