Chapter 38: Thanks are Made for Giving
It is time once again to Stew on this! Let us go beyond the feeling of gratitude and actually GIVE thanks.
It is Thanksgiving week here in the U.S. It is Black Friday week as well, but I am not so proud of that American export. Thanksgiving Day, on the other hand, though it tends to be a bit excessive (and tough on the turkey population), has always been my favorite holiday. I have a plethora of wonderful memories about Thanksgivings past with family.
Somehow the meaning of the holiday has always managed to sneak through the overdose of carbs and tryptophan.
Speaking of sneaking through, gratitude in general allows the light of Innate to sneak through whatever we might otherwise be holding in our consciousness. It is like cracking open the venetian blinds on a sunny day. Innate is always tapping at the door of our heart, and gratitude allows us to drop our defenses for a moment and open the door.
But this Thanksgiving, we can amp this up a notch. Let us go beyond the feeling of gratitude and actually GIVE thanks.
Giving thanks is not that hard to do when we are feeling grateful, but when we are not, the act of giving them can help us feel grateful. It can help us be more positive, and more able to see a bigger picture that includes what we really want rather than what we do not want or what we are worried might happen.
I am talking about giving thanks as an action - in addition to giving thanks FOR things, we can start giving thanks TO things. People included. We can start giving thanks away.
This is consistent with the old spiritual idea of, “Whatever seems to be lacking, give!”
The word “thank” is derived from “to think or feel.” This is appropriate, because giving thanks away changes our thoughts and feelings. They become more regenerative and more aligned with our values. Expressing thanks is the highest form of thought!
So, let us think lots of thanks - and then give them away! Say them, write them, express them, share them!
The best thing about giving thanks to someone is that the other person gets to receive the gift. It completes a cycle that honors and nurtures our true state of oneness and interconnectedness.
While we are at it, let us include ourselves. It is absolutely OK if we are the one who both gives AND receives the thanks. We all need to know we are appreciated!
In my practice days, I used to send four thank-you notes every day – and one of them was to me. I saved on postage with that one and hand-delivered it!
We can all appreciate and thank ourselves more for what is good, beautiful and true about us. The word “appreciate” means to increase in value, and giving that gift to ourself helps make the “better angels of our nature” seem more valuable and more real as part of our identify.
If we do not take the time to acknowledge what is good, we will be like that patient who comes in complaining that their knee still hurts, and you have to remind them that they were blind three months ago when they started care!
Giving thanks to ourself, and receiving them, can make our growth and our proudest moments at least as vivid in our memories and awareness as are our issues and our “failures.”
It is more than okay to acknowledge and appreciate what is right and good about ourselves. All of us have had the strength to show up when it was tough to. All of us have chosen to bring light into the world when things seemed dark. All of us have served others for the joy of it. All of us have said yes to our heart’s quiet voice. All of us have made it this far!
Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not, consider giving some thanks away. Giving thanks is a powerful way to add richness to your life.
I give immense thanks to you all for adding richness to my life.
Stew on that, and I will see you next time.
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