Giving Thanks

I think Thanksgiving comes at the perfect time of year. I don’t mean it is perfect because of all of the seasonal delicious ingredients that go into the feast, but rather I mean it is always this time of year that I need a little pick-me-up.

Let’s recap. Thanksgiving is the third Thursday in the second to last month of the year. It also lands solidly at the end of the semester, so for students like myself, it means we’ve been working non-stop since August. If you’re like me, you may have been putting off a few of those key assignments, resulting in even a bit more stress going into the finals period. It’s for this reason I need a pick-me-up, a little reminder of what’s going on, in order to put a little perspective, a positive spin, on life.

Whether you’re traveling far, staying near, spending time with family, friends, a beloved pet or perhaps looking forward to some solo time, Thanksgiving is the perfect time for a little reflection. Where have you been the past 11¾ months? What are you thankful for? Cataloguing and focusing on the positive things that have happened can be really helpful when things are looking a little bleak (read: finals… eek!).

You can be as simple or fancy with your thankfulness as you’d like. You can sit back and reflect on the year. You can write it down in a journal. I have also been known to make a few thankfulness collages in my day. This year I’m also thinking I might try out a thankfulness chain to decorate the house for Thanksgiving. You could even incorporate your thanks into the feast with gratitude rolls (crescent roll + thankfulness = gratitude roll). You could even get technological with it and tweet your thanks! (Thanksgiving is still four days away and Thankfulness is already all over twitter! )

Lastly, I advocate, once you’ve found what you’re thankful for—share! The great thing about thankfulness is, like a good laugh or a smile, it’s contagious! Are you thankful for your friends, family, pet? Reach out and show them! Have a few extra hours one day? Volunteer at a local soup kitchen that serves up a holiday lunch. Out getting groceries? Most supermarkets have holiday bins where you can donate a few cans of food at your local super market. Your one act of thankfulness will ripple further than you might imagine!