Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope you are honoring yourself right where you need to be today. If that means it makes you happy to be around friends and family, I hope you are there. If that means you need to take this year off and spend some time reflecting on your own heart, I encourage you to give your heart exactly what it needs and take that time. It is ok. The holidays bring up so many emotions, especially while we are grieving. We remember our traditions, our loved ones and, especially at Thanksgiving, we remember everything we are grateful for in our lives. We spend the day writing lists filled with gratitude.
But what if there was something even more powerful available to us than our traditional gratitude list?
I think our gratitude lists need a make-over. I think there is something more real, more poignant and more authentic we could do for our hearts today.
Now do not get me wrong. I do believe that we bring in more of what we focus on into our lives. But just a simple gratitude chart, while very lovely, feels a bit inauthentic to me. Whether we are grieving or not, there is stuff that happens in our life that makes us unhappy. Yes, those moments are our very best teachable moments. They become our strength building blocks, even. So I just don’t find it right to pretend they don’t exist.
I think we need to find a way to be grateful AND truthful with our hearts.
It’s imperative that we purge and release that which is heavy on our hearts and is no longer serving us to truly feel our genuine authentic gratitude. So, we’re going to give our gratitude lists a makeover this week.
T is not for turkey today!
We’re going to create a T-chart gratitude list. On the left hand side, write down everything you’re grateful for in your life. If you’re struggling today, find gratitude in the simplest of the things- the color of the sky, the air you breathe, the smile from a stranger. On the right hand of the chart, write out your struggles, disagreements, challenges, and anything heavy on your heart. When you are done, label that column on the right “Blessings.” As in, I bless this out of my life. I bless and release and let it go. I will bless my own life by letting this go. Thank these blessings for making you stronger and more resilient and bless them as they leave your heart.
Then, sit and bask in your balanced heart. Appreciate the good and bad and give thanks that they aren’t being forced to share the same side of the column. Most importantly, appreciate yourself for being truthful with your heart and maintaining an honest relationship with your gratitude and your blessings. And it’s in that moment, the moment when you reach truthful equilibrium, that you will find your heart filled with pure Thanksgiving gratitude.
I can’t wait to hear how this activity worked for you this week.
What did you bless out of your life? Did you find yourself feeling more balanced, clear and grateful?
I’m so grateful for all of you and the community we have built here. I’m grateful for all the sharing you do and the support you give each other. AND, I bless away the pain that sits on your heart from your losses and strength building moments. I bless them and invite them to release their heavy burden from your hearts.
Thank you for being you and for filling our community with love.
Love and blessings,
Erin