Be Thankful

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. It is one of my favorite times of the year. It brings back a lot of good memories and makes me consciously think of the blessing in my life. My blessings are bountiful.

Thanksgiving Day has its origins in dark and hard times. The first official holiday was proclaimed by Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It was in the middle of the American Civil War. The Battle of Gettysburg had been fought earlier that year with it’s carnage on both sides. The war’s end was nowhere in sight. Lincoln proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving to point out that while there were bad things going on, there were good things as well. Bountiful crops, population increases, prosperity were all things to give thanks for.

In this day and age, when all the news outlets are proclaiming all the negativity going on, there are still things to be thankful for. We, as a whole Earth population, are much better off than we were 100 years ago. Medical advances have all but wiped out the top 10 killers from 1908. The food supply has grown to allow the population to greatly increase.

In your personal life, think of the things you want and have such as shelter, food, health and relationships and be grateful. Think of the things you don’t want and don’t have and be grateful.

Things that you are grateful for in your life increase. Don’t limit your gratitude to just one day a year, do it every day. As the song goes, “Count your blessings. Count them one by one.”