Giving Thanks

This month at church the theme for Sacrament Meetings has been "gratitude." This is something we all can improve upon. The talks have included parables such as The Ten Lepers and lots of inspiring examples. Here's an article that speaks to the benefits of expressing gratitude through thank you notes (something I'm very bad at doing!): http://www.ldslivingmagazine.com/articles/show/1770 (or click on the post title). My Mom, Aunt Betty and daughter, Natalie are all very good examples of this practice. The gifts are barely opened when we receive heartfelt, handwritten thank you notes. If the article is right, these notes benefit the sender as well as the receiver.

I know many people who have improved their lives by daily acknowledging the good things that happen to them - perhaps in a journal entry. By doing this every night they come to recognize the little things throughout the day because they are conscious of the plan (and pressure?) to record, say 3 each night. So, gratitude rises on the consciousness meter and it begets a gratitude attitude.

I hope on this Thanksgiving Day we can all feel gratitude for our blessings, in spite of the economy and the negativism around us.