godawarenessdaily

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness, come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love enduresforever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.  (Ps. 100)

In the United States, a day is set aside to give thanks on the fourth Thursday in November. Why do we not, all of us, take more time regularly to be thankful for what we have? Why does it seem so much easier to complain about what we do not have than to appreciate that which we do?

Some of us may tend to feel a bit saddened as days grow shorter and we have less light in our daily lives. One way to deal with depression is to get into actions of some sort, and yet this is often the last thing anyone who feels depressed wants to do. What seems to help me most is shifting my attitude from one in which I complain about all that’s wrong with my life, and begin trying to be grateful for all the things I do have.

An attitude of gratitude can work absolute miracles in our lives. When we stop to think about it, we can usually find mountains of things for which to be grateful. Perhaps the most important is that we have allowed Spirit to be a regular part of our lives. Sometimes it’s hard to find subjects for these reflections, but I keep writing them because I have begun to believe that Spirit speaks to me (and hopefully sometimes to some of you) as I write them. Today, I am particularly grateful for the voice of the Spirit—that still, small voice that always speaks to us if we are but willing to listen.

May we all have a Happy Thanksgiving and may we remember to try to carry that attitude of thanksgiving with us throughout the year.  When we focus on our difficulties, we see more of these in our lives.  However, when we focus on those things for which we are grateful, Spirit allows us to see more and more of them.

Taken from the Thanksgiving page in “Talks with our Creator”