Thanksgiving Day arrives at the same time every year, and brings with it, time to slow down and remember all things for which we can give our thanks. There is much to be grateful for, all of the time. (Even if it may not feel that way, on a certain day, or season of your life.)
The list of giving thanks is truly endless. Have you ever really thought about the cup of coffee you’ve had earlier in the day? A.J. Jacobs did. He was so thankful for his coffee, he went all the way back in the chain of production to give thanks for his cup of coffee. He started with a barista, and ended in Colombia with the Colombian coffee farmer where the beans originated. Click here for his story and Ted Talk.
The same can be done for everyone and everything you can think of that surrounds your life, although it doesn’t have to be quite as extensive as A.J. Jacobs’ story. Giving thanks is sometimes holding the door for someone an extra 10 seconds as the supermarket, or letting the car in front of you merge into your lane, or saying thank you to the receptionist who schedules your next dental appointment.
It can be saying thank you to a colleague, sending appreciation notes in your spouse’s lunch tote, leaving a surprise gratitude post it somewhere in the house for a family member, or at the supermarket, or mailing a card to a relative for all the years they’ve shown you support.
This year, instead of focusing on all that isn’t going well in the world, try finding one thing, any thing, to be thankful for, and say thank you. Whether you say it out loud to someone directly, or, in reflection, internally, think your thanks. It may instill a feeling of gratitude that stays with you for longer than you think, and it may make someone’s day!
“The Gratitude Trails intersect and overlap everywhere. In fact, if you mapped them out, you could probably connect almost anyone in this book to almost anyone else.”
– A.J. Jacobs, Thanks a Thousand