What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?
To answer that question, a gratitude list may be helpful.
A gratitude list is a fundamental recommendation suggested by some counselors, religious denominations and recovery groups. The purpose of creating one is to focus on what you have, not on what you need or want.
We are aware some people will dismiss the gratitude list as self-help psycho-babble.
Life can be unkind. Death, illness, unemployment, conflict among family members, friends or co-workers may cause misery, frustration and resentment.
And the Thanksgiving holiday may aggravate, rather than ease, those emotions.
The Norman Rockwell-style image of close family members gathering joyously at a feast to give thanks for shared blessings doesn't always conform to reality.
Thanksgiving travel may be hectic, expensive and stressful. Jobs may conflict or restrict holiday plans.
A result is people who are able to gather with family at Thanksgiving may be anything but grateful; they may be preoccupied, anxious and frustrated.
Similarly, people unable to be with family at Thanksgiving also may be unhappy. They may experience self-pity, anger and loneliness.
So what do you have to grateful for?
If you're an honest person, write integrity on your gratitude list. If your word is your bond, add trustworthy. Are you reliable, responsible, caring, compassionate, helpful?
The list could go on and on, but the point is virtuous character traits are a person's greatest asset. Anyone can acquire them and, although there is no monetary cost, they are not free.
They require practice - a change in behavior coupled with a changed attitude.
Gratitude is the stuff of axioms (the proverbial "every cloud has a silver lining"), songs ("Accentuate the Positive") and comedy, (Monty Python's "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life").
Why not embrace gratitude when the only thing you've got to lose is misery.
To begin, consider a gratitude list.