A week of thanks

At this time of the year, when we dive head-on in the frenzy that has become the holiday season, it is important that we take time out of our daily craziness to reflect upon life and how each of us is truly fortunate. Each of us has so many things to be thankful for…even if at times, we might disagree.

We are all so caught up in life that sometimes we forget what we are doing or how much we have. Especially at this time of the year, as the burden of holiday shopping and the getting and the buying and the gifting becomes a paramount focus, we need to think about how much we already have and how lucky we really are. A while ago, I came across a quote that made me realize what we take for granted. It was something to the tune of “What if all you had when you woke up tomorrow is what you were thanked God for today?” Got me thinking that we don’t stop and appreciate the little things that we have often enough, usually not until they are gone — our health, family members, friends.

As we move into the week that “kicks off” the holiday season, here’s a thought:

In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.

~ David Steindl-Rast