Black Friday! Cyber Monday! Christmas! Three words: shopping, shopping, shopping. The best deals are happening right now and our inboxes are flooded with 50% off select items emails from every store we've subscribed to. We go Black Friday shopping and splurge a little bit too much in the Cyber Monday sale. We spend on ourselves because the deals are too good to pass up and buy gifts for everyone one and their dogs.

We can get caught up in this season of adding things into our shopping cart and wishing for those Christmas gifts instead of being grateful for what's right in front of us. We need to take a step back and acknowledge how blessed we are. Most of us will have a Christmas tree this year. Most of us can go on vacation for winter break. Most of us can afford to buy into all those deals in our inbox. Most of us have the luxury of indulging on what we want.

But what about those who can't?

it's a season of receiving but it should also be a season of giving; giving to those who need it. Giving to those who are struggling to make ends meet. Giving to those who don't have a roof over their head. Instead of focusing on ourselves, we should take a look at what little difference we can make in someone's life in our community or around us. Although to us, it may seem like a little, to them it can make all the difference.

We have to take a step back from the ads bombarding us left and right and just be grateful for the people around us.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying don't Black Friday or Cyber Monday or Christmas shop. I'm just saying we need to look just a little beyond that and take some time to refocus our attention to gratitude and giving instead on consuming and indulging in ourselves.

So this holiday season, get a little grateful and keep an eye out for who you can help and give back to because you never know what difference that can make in someone's life.