Being Thankful after Thanksgiving

While sitting in Sacrament meeting today I was struck by something our speaker said. I don't even remember her name ... she is new to our ward (this ward has a habit of snatching you up to speak super quickly ... R and I lasted only three weeks before we were asked to speak) ... but she was asked to speak on being grateful.

The first thing that she said was that she was glad that it was after Thanksgiving that she was asked to speak on this topic. She then mentioned how she didn't go on facebook for the entire month of November because she didn't like how the entire month was full of people saying what they were grateful for, but once Thanksgiving was over they fell back into their "life sucks" mood.

This may be a little extreme but I totally get it. I still go on facebook ... I may be addicted ... but I think it is fun to read what everyone is thankful for ... I like feeling the gratitude in the air ... knowing that everyone is acknowledging their blessings ... hearing what people are grateful for helps me to see my blessings. But I do notice that when Thanksgiving is over we have a tendency to forget that even though life may be difficult we have been given so many things ... we have been blessed in so many ways.

While the huge influx of gratitude warms my heart ... I think that it is important to keep this surge going all year round. If we remember to be grateful throughout the year it will do so many things for us ...

1. It will help us have a more positive outlook on life. When you are remembering to be grateful you are focusing on the good parts of your life ... this helps you to forget the bad ... hence you are looking at your life more positively!
2. It helps you to be happier in your life. This one is obvious ... if you are focusing on the positive because you are seeing things everywhere to be grateful for ... then you are obviously going to be happier.
3. It gets your more blessings! When you are showing Heavenly Father that you a grateful for what he has blessed you with he is more likely to pour down more blessings upon you. Remember the pride cycle ... when you lose you gratitude (especially towards Heavenly Father) you are likely to lose everything. When you recognize the blessings in your life (especially when you recognize that they come from Heavenly father) you are more apt to get more. 

There are so many good things that come out of being grateful ... why would we not be grateful all the time!

I have started to notice now that Thanksgiving is over that there have been more and more depressing posts on facebook ... I think that we should keep in mind that saying that keeps floating around pinterest ... What if we woke up with only the things we thanked Heavenly Father for the day before. That would be heavy ... I think I would be stuck with ... well ... I can't even remember ... probably only my family ... but that isn't such a bad thing ... what would if be like if I didn't say I was grateful for them ... I for sure could not live without them!

Well ... yanno what I say ... lets challenge ourselves ... me and whoever reads this blog ... to carry on this attitude of gratitude long past November ... You don't have to verbalize it ... nor do you have to broadcast it over your facebook or blog ... Just keep it in your hearts ... or in your prayers ... or in your minds ... when the day gets tough think of things that you are grateful for ... even if it is just your hair dryer ... or really just throughout the day at all ... think of what you are grateful for randomly throughout the day ... remind yourself that you have a great life because you have nail polish. 

I think that we do this we will be able to create a better environment for ourselves, our families, and quite possibly to community around you. 

Good luck my friends! Know that I am grateful for you!