What Are You Thankful For???

It’s that time of the year Vie Gals and Guys! THANKSGIVING! This is actually my favorite holiday of the year for three reasons:

The obvious. It’s ALL about giving thanks! It truly puts us into the mindset of being grateful for all that we have. I think that when our lives get so busy on us we begin to fall into our habitual thought patterns and a lot of the times, being grateful does not fall into that category. Waking up and first thing counting what you’re grateful for on your fingers and toes can dramatically improve our days and weeks. So, when there’s a holiday centered around gratitude, it’s great because everyone is on the same page together.
Because this is a holiday about being thankful for what we already have, it’s not centered on gift giving! In fact, it’s quite the opposite. It’s a time to give of our time. Which can be a really great thing for both the giver and the receiver. We can help a friend, a family member, listen to someone in suffering, hug more, smile more, volunteer at shelters, etc. Thanksgiving is a time to slow down (despite the frantic Christmas shopping some of us tend to do) and remember what life is all about: loving one another.
Let’s face it: The food and the gathering with the ones we love and care about. Let’s make time for each other and enjoy the lives we live, the heath we have, and the delicious food we have access too! And there IS a healthy way to eat around this time of the year. There are tons of blogs and holiday recipes to help us stay healthy. But back to the gathering of loved ones… One year I threw a huge gathering and called it “Friendsgiving.” Everyone brought food and drinks and snacks and it was a beautiful day outside spent playing sports and talking and listening to music. This was one of the best days of my life that I will never forget because I surrounded myself with so many wonderful people and brought different people together and watched them meet and be kind to one another and that was the best treat of all. Give yourself the gift of being around others!

So yes, we’ve established that this is an amazing time of the year and I know it is very easy to get stressed out when it comes to holiday parties and dinners and Christmas shopping, but I want to encourage you to take a step back before entering the holidays, take a deep breath, and remember why we do all of this and why all of this started. If we can connect back to the root of it all we’ll see that it’s much less about the material gifts we get and way more about the time we spend. This goes for giving time to you as well. I have a young friend that lives with a third grade teacher, and she spends most of her weeks giving her time and focus and energy to the children and the parents and the others faculty members and come the weekend, she is spent. So, she acknowledges this and gives herself some “me” time by getting massages or facials, spending time with close friends, making s’mores around the fire in the backyard, and anything that refills her cup. So, Vie gals and guys, let’s remember what the holidays are all about and give thanks for everything we are so blessed with in this life!

Live Life Vieautifully

Jody