Thanksliving
For the first time in 30 years, I’m alone on Thanksgiving. Leading up to today, I was in complete disbelief that Thanksgiving was approaching. The whole 80-degrees and sunny-in-November thing threw me for a loop. Just the other day, Brian sent me a picture of three inches of snow on our deck in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, I was down here in Arizona laying poolside. Odd. (But I’m not going to lie – I love pool time in November!)
And while 2011 has been one adventurous, life-changing, year (we’ll save that recap for the end of December), today is all about gratitude, appreciation, and thankfulness. So that is why treating Thanksgiving like any other day off, to be in Arizona rather than Minnesota and/or Wisconsin, is so very odd for me.
So. very. odd.
And not necessarily in a bad way. It’s just different. On this one day, the whole country is slowed down to give thanks, share gratitude, and gather with loved ones. This ONE day.
This one day should be every day.
EVERY DAY we should give thanks, share gratitude, and gather with loved ones. (That’s not to say that Thanksgiving Day isn’t important, because truth be told, today I promised myself I will be home with my family for every other Thanksgiving moving forward. In fact, Brian and I just made plans to kick off my Christmas trip home with a Thanksgiving Feast the night I arrive. I’m so looking forward to it!)
But back to the idea of giving thanks, sharing gratitude, and gathering with loved ones on a daily basis. We should do that. And it shouldn’t require a national holiday for us to slow down and do so.
Every day should have some Thanksgiving in it. Seriously!!! Let’s celebrate every. day. EVERY. DAY. Call it Thanksliving.
Thanksliving…
Think about that for a few minutes.
…
Thanksliving.
…
Thanksliving.
…
Thanksliving.
…
As for myself, at some point, every day, I pause to think about what I’m grateful for, for what’s going well in my life. And the more often and more deeply I reflect on this, the more abundant my life becomes. You’ve heard the saying, “You become what you think about most of the time.” I believe I’m beginning to see the truth behind those words.
Sharing my gratitude and gathering with loved ones in the spirit of Thanksgiving Thanksliving does not – YET – happen on a daily basis in my life. But it is definitely moving in that direction. And I can feel how absolutely full of life and love every day will be as I crowd out the busy-work with acts of Thanksgiving Thanksliving.
My cup runneth over.
(Funny how those childhood Sunday School lessons come back from time to time.)
And, with that, I wish you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving! I’m ever so grateful for your friendship and love.
P.S. I simply must, must, must publicly acknowledge Kim B. for introducing me to the term “Thanky G”. So very fun! It was the original title of this post until I came across Thanksliving.
P.P.S. Special thanks to Kenzie B. for introducing me to the term Thanksliving. I’m obsessed!
—
How do you celebrate Thanksliving?
About Sara
Sara Hefty (B.B.A. and H.H.C.) teaches workaholic women how to have it all and flourish without burning out, binging or being spiteful. As an expert in transformational health coaching, she holds women accountable for letting go of unwanted weight, being brilliantly nourished, grounded in truth and feeling confident, happy and playful every single day.
As a woman with her own weight loss story, wide-ranging family heritage of cancer, and a graduate of the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, Sara’s appreciation for convenient nutrient-dense food, personal growth, inspiring design, financial responsibility, and social entrepreneurship led to her “Pursuit of Ownership: Health, Home, and Legacy” model of heart-on-fire-hot empowered living.
Sara is the founder of PROJECT LUX and SaraHefty.com. She currently lives in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, with her husband Brian and hound-dog Raja.
