As we prepare to celebrate the upcoming holiday, Thanksgiving can be a wonderful time to reflect on the power of gratitude to shape our lives. Consider this quote by author Melody Beattie, “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
In his book Spiritual Marketing, Joe Vitale writes about a man who cured himself of double pneumonia when nothing was helping him heal. The man wrote a sentence that he spoke every hour, recorded on tape to play all day, and posted on signs around his house. By saying "Thank you God for all the blessings I have and for all the blessings I am receiving," the man healed his pneumonia in 24 hours! What power he found in gratitude!
In 1997, I read Oprah Winfrey’s suggestion to keep a gratitude journal. She wrote, “Every night list five things that happened this day that you are grateful for. If you can learn to focus on what you have, you will always see that the universe is abundant; you will have more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never have enough.” So I began writing my “Five Thanks List” in a journal several times a week. The entries range from seeing a beautiful butterfly, enjoying a walk with my hiking group, and completing a dreaded task, to the exquisite taste of a gourmet meal and the tremendous relief of learning my dear friend’s home and family were spared by Hurricane Ike.
When I am faithful to this practice, I realize the universe is a feast of sights, sounds, tastes, friends, and hugs. Despite dreary news in the world, I can restore my hopefulness as I record good things that happen. Try it yourself at your Thanksgiving celebration. Let each person express thanks for some blessing he or she has received. Then notice how you feel.
Other ways to express gratitude include: smiling at persons you pass on the street, writing a note to thank someone who helped you anytime in your life, sharing a hug, or contributing to a favorite charity. But how you can be grateful when you are enduring difficult things?
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, known for his stance on positive thinking, gives a clue in his comment, "Whenever God wants to give us a gift, he often wraps it up in a problem. The bigger the gift you have coming, the bigger the problem you will receive. But the wonderful thing is that if you look for the gift, you will always find it.” Here is an example of a problem that eventually led to a gift in my life.
After being downsized a few years ago, I had to sell my beloved home because my children had finished graduate school and were moving to apartments. We split the furniture among us, and my son took the family cats with him. I gave up my home, my neighbors, and my backyard full of flowers, birds, and bunnies. I forlornly moved into an apartment where I didn’t know anyone. So, where was the gift in that experience?
Actually there were several gifts. The house sold in 10 days, so my children and I moved into our respective apartments one month before September 11, 2001. After that fateful day, my realtor said nothing sold for six months. When I talked to him this spring, he said I gained thousands of dollars more than I would have now if I had I kept the home. The money from the house was invested and has been growing, while the house started losing value.
Meanwhile, for the first time in many years, I am free from responsibility for anyone else—and other people maintain my current residence. Thus, I was given the gift of time. I was able to easily visit my mom and dad multiple times before they both died. I had time to help with my daughter’s wedding, write books to sell on my website, , make new friends, and enjoy a simpler, less stressful life.
If you want to see the books that were the gift from this time, visit www.FeedYourBrain.org.
Whatever you are enduring, begin looking for the gift that comes with it. As surely as day follows night, it will come. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

© Sandy Baumann, 2008

--------------------------------------------
Sandy Baumann, M.S., is an author, health coach, and professional speaker. You may email her at emergingfree2000@yahoo.com or visit www.FeedYourBrain.org .