The day before Thanksgiving, a guy in Phoenix calls his son in New York and tells him, “Son, I’m really sorry but I have to tell you that your mother and I are splitting up. We can’t live with each other anymore.” The son is distraught and shouts at his father, “Pop, what are you talking about?” The father replies, “It’s just that we can’t stand the sight of each other anymore and I’m sick of talking about this, so will you call your sister in Chicago and tell her?”
The father than hangs up, and the son frantically calls his sister, who’s equally distraught and exclaims, “Like heck they’re getting divorced! Leave it to me. I’ll take care of this.” So she calls her father and shouts at him, “You are NOT getting divorced! Don’t you dare to do a single thing until I get there. I’m calling my brother, and we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t you dare do a thing about this. Do you hear me?” She then hangs up, at which point the father hangs up his phone, turns to his wife and says, “Okay dear, they’re both coming for Thanksgiving and paying their own way.”
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Don’t forget what Thanksgiving is all about. Reflect and be thankful for all that you have in your life. Today you didn’t wake up cold and hungry but someone else did. Never forget that no matter how hard your life is it’s still harder for someone else out there. Be thankful for the things you do have instead of complaining about the things you don’t have. Life is a gift. Wake up every day and realize it. Happiness isn’t about getting what you want all of the time. Happiness is about loving what you have and being grateful for it.
Don’t start your day with the broken pieces of yesterday. Every morning you wake up is the first day of the rest of your life. Be grateful for whatever your circumstances might be. What if you woke up today with only the things that you thanked God for yesterday? Life is a series of tiny miracles. Notice them. Choose to be grateful. Even the worst day is better than no day at all. Don’t get so busy adding up your troubles that you forget to count your blessings. Don’t be negative when you have so much to be positive about. It’s not happy people who are thankful. It’s the thankful people who are happy.
Your life may not be perfect but be thankful for everything you do have. You have too many blessings to be ungrateful. Never let the things you want make you forget the things you already have. Appreciate the people in your life. Tell them why you adore them and how grateful you are for what they add to your life. The best way to keep amazing people in your life is to show them your gratitude and let them know that they are appreciated. Don’t assume that they know. Tell them. Appreciate those who love you. Help those who need you and forgive those who have hurt you.
Be thankful for what you are now and keep fighting for what you want to be tomorrow. Be thankful for your struggles. It is because of them that you stumbled into the wisdom and strength that you now possess. Gratitude is one of the most important human virtues but it is not developed without practice. You have a choice every single day to be grateful. Be thankful for those protecting your freedom who have given up their freedom and will miss being with their families this holiday season. You may not know them but you benefit from their sacrifices.
Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire. If you did, what would there be to look forward to? Be thankful when you don’t know something for it gives you the opportunity to learn. Be grateful for the difficult times for it is in those times that you grow. Be thankful for your limitations because they give you opportunities to improve. Be thankful for your mistakes because they will teach you valuable life lessons. Be thankful for your troubles because sometimes they have a way of becoming amazing blessings. Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present but not giving it to the one it is for. Gratitude is a shortcut to finding peace of mind. No matter what is going on in our lives there is always something to be grateful for.
Happy Thanksgiving!