It’s that time of year again: Time to gather with friends and family, stuff our faces with delicious food, and reflect on that for which we are most grateful. It’s time to take stock of our lives, appreciate all the good, and identify opportunities for increased gratitude and thanksgiving.
I love that Turkey Day kicks of the holiday season, as it feels inherently less complex and involved than something like Christmas or New Years. The “rules” of Thanksgiving are decidedly simple and straightforward – be grateful and eat food – and I truly believe this uncomplicated, wholesome approach sets us up for a successful holiday season. For if we are rooted in perspective and gratitude then we are able to weather any storm that comes our way during the flurried sprint towards December 25th. Even if we experience gift shopping snafus, cookie baking blunders, or full-fledged family feuds, grounding ourselves from a perspective of thanksgiving enables us to look inward, ground our perspective, and remain even keel and levelheaded amidst both the best and the worst holiday moments.
So, in the spirit of celebrating another beautiful year and setting ourselves up for a successful holiday season, I thought I’d share a few things I’m particularly grateful for this year. Perhaps this list will resonate with you and inspire a few similar ideas of your own. Or maybe it will encourage you to reflect on other areas of your life where you can find gratitude, maybe even in aspects where you aren’t feeling particularly grateful. Whatever you ultimately choose to do, I urge you to reflect on the last twelve months you’ve just experienced, envision the type of new year you hope to step into, and ground yourself in a healthy dose of perspective taking.
4 things I’m grateful for this holiday season:
1. Cam and the life we have built throughout our eight and a half years of being together. From dating long distance, to navigating two huge career transitions, to embarking on new adventures and getting engaged, he is without a doubt my person. And boy, am I so, so happy we found each other all those years ago.
2. More time spent with family and friends this year vs. last. Sure, the world still isn’t back to “normal” (whatever that even means anymore), but with the rollout of the vaccine the pandemic feels a little more navigable, and I’ve been able to spend more time with the people who matter most to me. Cheers to family gatherings, in-person dining, and getting together for drinks with friends. It truly is the simple things in life that mean the most, and it’s important we remember that.
3. Peloton, for keeping me sane, making me feel strong, and plugging me into a larger community, always. Peloton has carried me through times of joy, sadness, excitement, and anxiety during these last two very unpredictable years. It has broken me down, built me up, and made me feel whole. It is so much more than a bike or fitness platform: It’s a godsend and a revolution.
4. Fitz, our newest addition to this wild and crazy crew, for keeping me and Cam forever active, curious, and on our toes. He is a constant companion, a devoted snuggle buddy, and an endless source of smiles and laughter. We’ve waited a long time for this little stinker, and now I can’t imagine life without him.
Well, there’s my list. What’s yours? Don’t feel like you need to replicate my approach or limit your list to four items, either: We can find gratitude in all things if only we look hard enough. And, if you aren’t for whatever reason feeling particular thankful this holiday season, try reframing your perspective to view things from another lens. As writer Oscar Wilde shares, “If you don’t get everything you want, think of the things you don’t get that you don’t want.”
So, whether it’s celebrating all that you have or giving thanks for that which you are fortunate enough not to have, remember this: We are at choice for how we decide to view life and interact with the world around us. We can choose to view our circumstances based on everything we think we lack, or we can live with full hearts and a deep sense of gratitude and truly embrace all the beauty this wonderful life has to offer.
As Deepak Chopra writes, “gratitude opens the door, the power, the wisdom, the creativity of the universe. You open the door through gratitude.”
Let’s open more doors this season. Together. One act of gratitude at a time.
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