#80 - NOURISH YOUR FLOURISH NUGGET | Thanksgiving, What I'm Thankful For, and a Token of My Gratitude

Not a day, but a SEASON .... With fall comes change. Our culture pushes us to hurry, get it done... now! For our spiritual integrity, we do well to take a longer view beyond the present moment, to look out into the future, beyond today, this week, this year .... Thanksgiving is not about a day but about a season .... A season of gratitude.
Gratitude is of the heart.... It can only grow from there, and when it blooms it is expressed in each of us as JOY! Beyond nice thoughts and pithy words is the struggle that is our daily manner of living. Life can be messy but it is also manageable. Few of us escape the messiness of our current culture and the challenges we face in our careers and families. Life inevitably proves to be difficult, but it does not have to be burdensome. We possess all that is needed to nurture gratitude in our lives.
To remember and to recall .... Remember those who have gone before us in the faith and in our families. We are who we are as a result of those who formed and molded our lives. So the first fruit of gratitude is to remember those people who positively influenced our lives and nurtured us. The goal is to pass along wisdom, knowledge and understanding to those who surround us; parents, siblings, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors and co-workers. Fill the lives of other people with good things.
Joy, joy, heartfelt Joy! .... Thanksgiving begins with a gaze upon gratitude. Many suffer from an inability to be grateful as they suffer homelessness, malnutrition, lack of basic healthcare, racism, fear of deportation, loss of affection, and broken relationships. The list is long and any one of us could find ourselves in a seemingly hopeless situation. Hope nurtures gratitude which is rooted in the heart, and feeds the soul. Gratitude always stands ready to be embraced. It beckons us to turn a cheek to the hurts of the world, it brings light to the darkness in any situation, and leads us to thanksgiving. Gratitude helps to protect our soul from doubt and fear. With gratitude the soul rejoices and experiences the gift of Joy – heartfelt Joy.
Gratitude is not quaint thought, or a nostalgic feeling. The key to a happy Thanksgiving? Recognizing that it is in giving that we receive.
May abundant blessings accompany us in the coming days. May we respond with heartfelt joy so that our countenance will be for all an encounter with mercy, compassion, and love. Even if we eat too much, there is still plenty of room for lots of gratitude and joy! Happy Thanksgiving!
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