Happy Thanksgiving! The significance of Thanksgiving is different for everyone. For some, it’s a time to eat and spend time with family and friends. For others, it is simply a day off work and time to relax. No matter how you celebrate Thanksgiving, it is an opportunity to stand back from our busy life schedules and reflect on gratitude. However, it is unfortunate that we only consider gratitude and thanks-giving for one day out of the entire year! Having daily feelings of gratitude is good for both the body and soul. Especially when people are going through difficult times, I encourage my patients to keep a “gratitude journal”. A gratitude journal is documenting one thing, every day, for which you are grateful. It can be major events, such as “I’m grateful that I am not terminally ill” or even little things such as “I’m grateful to have 10 fingers and 10 toes”. Over time, such a practice can help to shift your world-view and create optimism and inner-peace. When we are truly thankful and appreciative, people find that their desires for the mundane seem to evaporate and we become more focused on what is important. I have found that people with a greater capacity for gratitude and appreciation of their circumstances find greater life happiness, even during emotionally difficult periods of time.
I hope that you find much thanks and gratitude this Holiday season and for the rest of your life!
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