THE PRACTICE OF BEING THANKFUL
Robert M. Brown III, Ph.D., contributing editor
The year 2010 is one that many people will not forget. It has been filled with many economic challenges, including layoffs, thirty and sixty day late notices, repossessions, foreclosures, family fragmentation, homelessness, and the list can be lengthened. The impact of these circumstances can be devastating and can also seem insurmountable. Recovery from this period that rivals the Great Depression is, for so many people, seemingly nonexistent. Many who are employed constantly worry about how much longer they will have their jobs. Those that have been laid off wonder what they did wrong or, how could employers to whom they showed so much dedication be so callous. Others wonder if they will ever receive a reply to any one of the hundreds of resumes or job applications that they have submitted. These kinds of times can call into question one’s capacity to cope effectively. And now, the holiday season approaches again and with it, sometimes, are feelings of foreboding about getting through this time of the year.
The feelings of anxiety, stress, worry, and anger can create fear and doubt for many. Losing your job and not being able to pay your bills matters. Losing your home matters. Dependence on the goodwill of family, friends, food banks and shelters matters. Experiencing family challenges because of these kinds of issues matters. Each person has the right to feel how they feel. But, as long as you are healthy, relatively speaking, you can think, and you can act, the opportunities are still all around you. Resist the temptation to isolate yourself. Get out and go for a walk. Begin to read that book that you have been putting off for months in a public place. Call someone that you have not spoken with in a while to say that you are thinking about them and that you appreciate their presence in your life. Think about the dreams that you may have had for years and decide to write a plan to help make them a reality. Now, take a moment to be still, in body and mind, to collect your thoughts and take inventory of your thinking. Determine if most of your thoughts are positive or negative. As difficult as the circumstances may be, say a few words of “thanks” just because... And as you say these words, keep in mind that circumstances could be worse. What we think really matters because our feelings are influenced by perception, which ultimately affects what we do. Just because circumstances may be far from ideal, this does not mean that they will remain that way. There may be great concern (and rightly so) about getting through the day or the week. But, remember that the power to bring change still lies within. The first and most important step in this process is to align your thoughts to facilitate the outcomes that you desire.
This begins by expressing positive affirmations like these: I am strong. I am capable. I am worthy. I am good enough. I can meet any challenge. I will not quit. I deserve abundance. I give thanks for the opportunity of now and the moments in every day. I give thanks for making me who I am and who I can become. These words have power. Change does not always occur in an instant. It happens, immutably, though, with a change in the patterns of thought. Once this change begins, the universe responds and manifestations that could not have been imagined present themselves. So, today, start to be good to yourself, first, so that you can be good to others. Each person has a purpose in this life that is worthy of discovery and exultation! Even though things may not be as you would like them to be, you have the power to create change by recognizing that no one else on this earth is more equipped to be you than you. And, once you begin to really accept you and realize that you are a work in progress, giving thanks for the gift of you, the weight of the challenges that you face begin to seem less consuming. The usual tug of heaviness that can come because of the holiday season does not seem as significant. And, for the first time in a while, you awakened to a day in which you just felt good from sun up to sun down. You could not explain it but all the day through, you were giving thanks.
