Gee, Thanks

By: Cynthia Litman

Pearl of the Day: Humble as Pie

Gobble

Thanksgiving is a favorite holiday in my family and has me thinking of this pearl “a turkey that tries to escape its fate is missing the opportunity to relish in nourishing another.”

Around the holidays it seems everyone is scurrying, to catch the sales and cross off their shopping lists and holiday parties!! You miss half the fun of the season because you are rushing through it to get it done. 

Or, you become immobile and spiral into focusing on all the things that you aren’t and haven’t achieved before the seasons turn cold and enter a New Year.  We carve up our life and identify all the things we’re going to stop cold turkey.

Before busting out the electric knife on your life, stop for a moment and give thanks for all that you are.  Try taking a 360 view of yourself and find the small miracles and moments of gratitude, perhaps at something or for someone that went unnoticed but may have helped open your heart. Sometimes exactly what you don't want or expect is exactly what you need.

Family

It takes a humble person to say grace and be truly thankful, particularly if doing so at a table with others.

We pass the baton around our Thanksgiving table so everyone can share what they are grateful and thankful for. A friend of mine actually uses a wooden spoon at her family table which is a powerful symbol and much needed device in that no one may interrupt the person holding the spoon!

Small Thanks

Try making saying “thank you” a regular practice in your life. Instead of waiting to say "thank you", say it in the moment. Make it an art form.

If that's too much, then start small by giving thanks to the little things in your life that make you smile. Whether the autumn foliage, DVR, Duncan Hines, the train arriving on time, the miracles lie in the small details. Everyday I thank God for my children, they are the most precious little angels and their little smiles beam oceans of love.

Work

It has been a rough year for many, if you have food on your table be grateful. If you are unemployed, be thankful for the experience you’ve had to date and take a moment to honor yourself and know that you have much to offer this world. Be thankful for the contacts that you do have and hold that space.

If you’ve been working nonstop, be thankful for a night off to be with your family, turn off the phone and savor it.

Body 

Debbie Ford (who is a client) recently wrote an amazing newsletter called “A Tribute to the Fat Ass”, where she talks how a recent hospital stay left her way too skinny and wishing for a larger ass. While it seems like something only a skinny person would say, having a cushion - whether an ass or a friend - to soften the blow is something we can all be grateful for.

The holiday’s brings on the pain of casting a negative glow onto our bodies and so often restricts us from fully enjoying the season. Give thanks to your body, for taking and expelling all the crap you’ve dolled it, for all its work to hold onto your spirit day after day and if you are a parent/mom, for giving you the greatest gift of all  - your children.

Your body will accept a thank you and always forgives you!!

Play

Be thankful for the laughter and the times you’ve had to play. Thank your heart and pledge to it that you will be more playful and joyous.

Food

Eat. Don’t gorge, just eat. Enjoy the flavors of the season.  Be thankful for the nutrients the food of the harvest season provides our bodies to sustain us. 

Thank you turkey who didn’t resist your fate and will become part of my body.

Life

Each breath is a gift.  Give thanks to life.

Being in a state of thanks opens the way for grace. Accept it, someone out there is SO thankful you are part of their life!! 

Make like it’s Black Friday everyday and say thank you like it’s free!! 

 

Copyright © 2010 Cynthia Litman d/b/a Tigris Imprints. All Rights Reserved.

Links:

Debbie Ford's Newsletter: A Tribute To the Fat Ass