Beautiful Excess

There is no better excess in the world than the excess of gratitude. - Jean de La Bruyère 

~ Happy Thanksgiving ~ 

 

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How to Be Grateful When You Have Nothing to Be Grateful For

The greatest source of happiness is the ability to be grateful at all times. - Zig Ziglar

Thanksgiving is a time of reflection. It is a time when families gather together to count their blessings and express their gratitude for all the good things in their lives. 

But what if you have nothing to be grateful for? What if your loved one or you were diagnosed with an incurable disease? What if you lost your home due to a natural disaster? What if you lost your job? What if you were a victim of a terrible crime? What if all your savings are gone thanks to the raging inflation? What if you lost someone? 

It isn't easy to express appreciation and gratitude in challenging times. When bitterness, fear, disappointment, anger, and uncertainty dominate your emotional landscape, it is difficult to be grateful. And yet, we can only survive the storm if we have hope.

Can we fake gratitude? 

Research shows that people who feel grateful are not only happier but also healthier. Scientists measured lower levels of stress hormones, less inflammation in the body, and even improved immunity in people who felt grateful or had thoughts of gratitude.* Wouldn't this alone be a good reason to motivate oneself to a daily practice of gratefulness? 

Do not compare your misery to the happiness of others. Accept reality as it is and do not suppress your real feelings. Instead, try to find something that will bring you joy every day and be grateful for it. Take time to observe nature, listen to music, read poetry, or talk to a dear friend. Take time to pamper yourself. Shift your attitude. Embrace activities that give you comfort and consciously express your gratitude even if you do not feel like it. If there is nothing at all, recall a happy moment from the past.

Start your day by counting the good things in your life and end it reflecting on all the things that warmed your heart: a smile from a child, a kind gesture from a stranger, a leaf falling off the tree and dancing before you... Make gratitude a habit. This will give you the strength to continue even in the most difficult circumstances. 

The tragedy of our existence is the realization that good things do not last. But neither do the bad things, and this alone is a very good reason to be grateful. 

Wishing you a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving - Dominique

Post scriptum

Stress kills so please, do not underestimate the impact your nastiness, your anger, your egoism and intolerance have on others, especially those who are sick, those who are trying to heal and are too weak or simply no longer willing to fight with you. 

When I wrote this post my husband who was diagnosed with stage IV kidney cancer in 2021 was still alive. His cancer treatment was terminated in October. We still had hope and felt grateful that he made it so far. I was in Europe, scheduled for a medical check up and could not be around for Thanksgiving. We were used to the fact that sometimes the only way to celebrate was to spend hours on the phone. On Thanksgiving's Eve James felt a little tired and weak but was in a rather good mood. On Thanksgiving Day, however, my husband's condition deteriorated considerably after his daughter, an obtuse woman in her late 40s, quarreled with him over the phone. She scolded him because he declined a dinner invitation that would have involved a 70-miles drive from Roswell, NM, to her home in Carlsbad, NM, and he did not feel that he could do that. This quarrel stressed and depressed him more than one could even imagine. He collapsed later in the evening and had to be taken by helicopter from Roswell, NM to a hospital in El Paso, TX. He never recovered and eventually left this plane of existence on December 15, 2023. He was 70 years old.

Also of interest: The Importance of Being Grateful

*Lilian Jans-Beken, Nele Jacobs, Mayke Janssens, et al. Gratitude and health: An updated review. The Journal of Positive Psychology. 2020/15:6. pp 743-782

Dominique Allmon©2023

The Habit Of Gratitude

Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have more of it. - Ralph Marston

~ Happy Thanksgiving ~

Image: Pumpkin Centerpiece by Dominique Allmon©2018

Memory Of The Heart

Gratitude is the 

memory 

of the heart. 

-

Jean-Baptiste Massieu 

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

Image: Memory of the Heart by Dominique Allmon©2017

Quote of the Day

Feeling gratitude 

and not expressing it 

is like wrapping a present 

and not giving it. 

William Arthur Ward 

Image by Dominique Teng©2016

Happy Thanksgiving!

True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not. - Seneca

Wishing everyone a happy and meaningful Thanksgiving! - Dominique

Image by Dominique Allmon©2015

Be Thankful

 

 

Be thankful 

 

That you don’t already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to? 

Be thankful when you don’t know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow. 

Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you  

Opportunities for improvement. 

 Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build  

Your strength and character. 

 Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons. 

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary
Because it means you’ve made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those  

Who are also thankful for the setbacks. 

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive. 

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles 

and they can become your blessings. 

 

Author Unknown but greatly appreciated 

 

~ Happy Thanksgiving! ~

Happy Thanksgiving!

Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend… When we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present - love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and personal pursuits that bring us pleasure - the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience Heaven on earth. ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

 Wishing everyone happy and peaceful Thanksgiving ~ Dominique

Image source unknown but greatly appreciated

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's time to be grateful

We can always find something to be thankful for, 

and there may be reasons 

why we ought to be thankful for even those 

dispensations which appear 

dark and frowning. 

Albert Barnes

Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving
 With Love, Light and Laughter

 Dominique

Image by Masahiro Makino 

Quote of the Day

Let us be grateful to the people 

who make us happy. 

They are the charming gardeners 

who make our souls blossom. 

Marcel Proust

Image source unknown but greatly appreciated

Happy Thanksgiving!

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. - John F. Kennedy

May you have a happy and peaceful Thanksgiving!

Foundation of Abundance

Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Image source unknown but greatly appreciated

The Importance of Being Grateful

The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings. - Eric Hoffer

On Thanksgiving Day, many American families celebrate the tradition of sitting around the dinner table and taking a few minutes to reflect on and share with others what they are grateful for.

It doesn't matter that we live in difficult times. It doesn't matter that we may feel insecure, depressed, disappointed or angry. Thanksgiving is a perfect time to reflect on the good things in our lives and to celebrate abundance. There is always a silver lining, no matter what. We may not always see it, but a shift in our perception of reality will help us change the way we experience everything that is coming our way. At first it may be difficult to understand that the glass is never empty. It may come in the wrong size at times, but it is always full. There is always something to fill our hearts with joy, something to fill our minds with wonder, something to be grateful for. If we remember this, we will easily find the strength to continue no matter how difficult our circumstances may appear. 

A small exercise in gratitude can help us shift attention and move the center of gravity. Instead of focusing on all the things that are wrong or missing in our lives, we should express gratitude for all the things that are good and praiseworthy. This change in attitude helps us elevate our vibration. We instantly feel better about ourselves and our circumstances. As our mood changes gradually, we tend to attract positive responses from people around us. Everything seems to be less dreary and we have the strength to face our challenges without fear. We are able to understand that even the most difficult times do not last forever. We know that we are in transition and that the outcome depends on the direction we are willing to take. After all, we are the final masters of our fate.

Do not allow negative emotions to take over. Do not tune in with others who spend their days whining and complaining. Instead, try to motivate those around you to count their blessings and to exercise gratitude on daily bases. At first, they may object that there is very little they can be grateful for, but with passing time they will realize that it is really up to them to experience joy and create abundance. It is like a magic touch because with the right frame of mind ordinary things will suddenly take on another meaning. 

Keep in mind that giving thanks is a conscious decision we need to make daily. Begin your day with blessings and end it with a reflection on the good things in your life...

Wishing everyone Happy Thanksgiving - with Love, Light and Laughter - Dominique

Dominique Allmon©2010

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Gratitude

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. - Melody Beattie

Quote of the Day

What if you gave someone a gift, and they neglected to thank you for it? Would you be likely to give them another? Life is the same way. In order to attract more of the blessings that life has to offer, you must truly appreciate what you already have. -  Ralph Marston

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Thanksgiving

 

Red Pumpkin by Thomas J. Story

For the beauty of the earth
For the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies.

Lord of all, to Thee we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour,
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon, and stars of light.

From the traditional Thanksgiving hymn
"For the Beauty of the Earth" by Folliott S. Pierpoint, 1864

Wishing everyone a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Dominique 

Image credit here