I love this time of the year! When Thanksgiving comes around the mood changes and love is in the air. People travel to spend time with their loved ones or open up their homes to friends who maybe far from their families. Great stories are shared around tables and you are guaranteed that turkey this and turkey that will be the meal for the next many days! Homes get decorated in preparation for Christmas. Radios start blasting Christmas songs everywhere. The festive season is here.
In a world where virtually every holiday has been commercialized, “Black Friday & Cyber Monday” used to be a day but now they are a week long! I watched in amazement as people trip over one another to get the “deal of day.” Holiday sales now month long and folks are busy buying stuff they don’t need unaware that they are laying a foundation of going into the next year in more debt!
Could we have lost the essence of gratitude in the pursuit of more? I think we have. We have become a society with so much yet we experience so little joy in our lives. We casually say, “thank you” out of tradition and not from the depth of conviction. Have we become so entitled and become blinded to the most important things in our lives? Have you counted your blessings lately?
I want to share with you my life lessons about gratitude or being thankful and I hope that it gives you a different lens through which you can count some your blessings.
My grandmother always told me - “Son, in life there will always be people with more than you have and there will be those with less than you have. The key to being fulfilled is to always be thankful for what you have now.” Melody Beattie say, “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home and a stranger into a friend.” How so very true! Gratitude turns what we have into more than enough.
Gratitude gives us strength to go through adversity in our lives. It gives us the strength to stand up again. It gives us the hope for the future, empowering us to keep moving for a better tomorrow. Be thankful for the tough lessons of 2014 and stand up with a refreshed hope and excitement for the coming year.
Gratitude gives us a renewed purpose for our lives. Sometimes we are faced by life altering realities in our lives that shake the very core of our being and gratitude gives meaning to the meaningless as long as we choose to see the best in all things. Gratitude allows us to mine the gold from every circumstance.
Gratitude is the cure for the destination disease. The someday disease-when I get a better job, when I get a better spouse, when I start a new business, when I retire! Quit postponing your joy! I love what Robert J. Hastings says: “Sooner or later we must realize there is no ideal destination, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life outdistances us. So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more and cry less.Life must be lived as we go along. Relish the moment is a good motto.” I say, all we have is this moment - NOW live like you are grateful to be alive.
Gratitude opens the doors of opportunity and blessings to flow your way when we become intentionally grateful to those around us. We all need someone to believe in us,to build us, to guide us or support us on our life’s quest to fulfill on our purpose. Be thankful for your family, friends, mentors or the relationships you have right now. They are your blessings on the journey.
In conclusion, gratitude gives you perspective, gratitude gives you strength in times of adversity, gratitude gives purpose, gratitude gives you joy and fulfillment right now and finally gratitude opens the doors of blessings to flow your way. Count your blessings daily and always be a blessing to others around you.
I thank you for your time. I thank you Lolade Onashile for the opportunity to serve you and your readers. Wishing you all a very blessed and wonderful holiday season my friends.
What are you most grateful for? Please share below.
Live, Love and Share,
Guest Blogger: Njeru is a Co-Author with Brian Tracy of the bestselling book “Change Agents”. Certified Speaker, Coach & Trainer with the John Maxwell Team. Founder of The Leaders University. Njeru Nthigah is passionate about educating, empowering and equipping leaders. He also works with individuals to help them find, develop and live out their unique purpose. He currently lives in New Jersey. You may connect with his via social media:
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