You ever notice how everyone posts tons of stuff about thankfulness around Thanksgiving, and then all of those posts just disappear throughout the rest of the year? It’s not a judgment so much as food for thought – I do it, too! And I don’t think this means that we’re only thankful in November, but I think it’s when we’re most aware of it. When we like to talk about it most.

I don’t know about you, though, but I’m thankful every day. Thankful for my family and friends, my job, my home, my cats. I’m not perfect, and sometimes, I forget just how blessed I am – more importantly, I forget to live thankfully. I let complaints fill my mouth and no one gets a sense of thankfulness or contentment coming from me. It’s one thing to feel thankful and another to talk about it, to let it show in your actions.

That’s why it’s so important to practice thankfulness. It shifts our focus to positive thoughts about what we have rather than negative thoughts about what we don’t have – and we all know how our culture makes our wants feel oh so important. Once we realise that what we have is enough, we settle into contentment: being satisfied with where we are and what we have.

But you know when it’s hardest to be thankful? When we get what we want.

I had an incredible work opportunity come my way a couple weeks ago, the kind of job I’d been praying about for a long time. And it was brought right to me! After accepting this opportunity, I did a little dance, then nearly got right back to work. Suddenly, I realised: how selfish am I? So I turned and thanked God instead, and the time was definitely better spent.

This week, I want to encourage you to be thankful every day, even if it’s just for one thing. When you settle into a place of thankfulness and contentment, it puts life in a whole new perspective.

And before you go, here’s the writing prompt for this week: idioms! write a story based on your favourite idiom or any idiom at all. You’ll see my entry on Wednesday. If you write a story based on this writing prompt, I want to read and/or reblog it! You can post the link in the comments below or email it to me here!

Happy writing!
-E.J.

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