Many Thanks for Thanksgiving

Jamie Vagnier

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, it draws two things together; my love for food and being grateful! I guess I am not alone in the latter because November is now being observed as gratitude month. Gratitude is more than simply saying “thank you.” Gratitude’s amazing powers have the ability to shift us from focusing on the negative to appreciating what is positive in our lives.

Social Media, albeit not always viewed in a positive light, has taken this concept of being more grateful and ran with it. Many platforms are now asking their users to post daily in November about what or whom they are grateful for. In a time where things are uncertain this is a practice we should begin to implement more, not only this month.

Another way we can enact this feeling in ourselves and others is by “paying it forward”. The concept of paying it forward is simple; do a good deed for someone else and then they feel inspired to do a good deed for another person and so on and so forth. I’m sure many of us have been a part of this in the Starbucks line and it has impacted us so much we either write about it on social media or at the very least tell one more person about it in our day.

The last form of gratitude I want to bring attention to is something I love to do, and it doesn’t cost a dime. This is the concept of sharing your gratitude in the form of a genuine compliment. Telling someone, with a smile, that they have a beautiful smile, and that their smile was just what you needed to see that day. This in turn tends to increase and enhance your own sense of well-being. The act of giving compliments creates a perpetual cycle. Telling someone that they have made a positive impact on your life, or that you admired the way they handled a situation, is a powerful gift.

So I challenge you- love beats hate always, and little acts of kindness can genuinely help people.This month and every month, I’m going to habitually acknowledge my gratitude and see what impacts I can make on those around me. Will you join me?