Thanksgiving Is Everyday. Smile :)

What are you thankful for?

Family? Friends? Blessings? Twinkies? The end of Twinkies (at least for the foreseeable future)?

Whatever you may be thankful for, you can be thankful for one more thing - we live in a country that sets aside a time (albeit a single day) for all of us to join family and friends in reflection of what we have and not what we don't have. It may seem like a small gesture, but Thanksgiving results in more than a day off.

It's truly a remarkable time of the year. When neighbors invite neighbors to dinner, when someone volunteers to bring the pumpkin pie (or in my family's case, when someone volunteers to bring the hot pot meat...), or just when people tell each other, "Hey have a happy Thanksgiving!", it's a remarkable thing. Why? Everyone understands thankfulness. Everyone smiles. It's so hard to be bitter around Thanksgiving when everyone is smiling.

Being thankful on Thanksgiving day is only right. However, we should strive for more. Giving thanks should not end the moment you go to sleep that night (though it often does). It should not end at 8pm the same day at Wal Mart because you really want a new flat screen TV from Black Friday and your old one isn't good enough. It should not end Monday morning when you get back to work and grumble over the nearing deadline of a daunting project.

Actually, there is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to get a good deal. There is nothing inherently wrong with grumbling over deadlines for projects you understandably don't have the motivation to work on. What I'm proposing is that in everything you do after Thanksgiving, you keep the smile that Thanksgiving gave you.

What do I mean? I'm saying that you should never forget to take a step back and be thankful for what you have, especially when things don't go your way. I know it's easier said than done but if you make even a timid effort someone's going to notice the difference. Hopefully you will notice the difference too.

If you want to get a new 50 inch TV with Hulu Plus connectivity from Wal Mart on Black Thursday (err... Friday) and have the funds for it, go for it and reward yourself. However, if the person in front of you in line takes the 10th and final TV, go all bitter berry. Chill out, take a step back and smile because the 32 inch TV you'll have to return home to isn't too shabby. If you are stressed at work or school because of a project, break a little smile for all of the previous projects you were able to complete, the people who have helped you get into the position or school you are in today, or for the opportunity you have to go even farther with the completion of this project.

Take pressure off today by taking encouragement from yesterday. The principles of Thanksgiving aren't exclusive to the fourth Thursday of November. They are good as lifelong principles in general - we just happened to be reminded of them on a single holiday.

Thanks for reading. I hope this positively impacted your day. I know that just writing this has helped me reflect on what I have to be thankful for and what I need to do to stay that way.

So what are you waiting for? Smile :)

Always thankful for friends :)

Always thankful for family :)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Eat Up!