Thanksgiving is glorified as the exemplary day to be thankful for all that we are blessed to have. We sit around the dining room table, surrounded by close family and friends. The best cutlery and holiday dishes are out, your aunt made her traditional Thanksgiving dish, and your stomach is ready for all that’s preparing to be scooped onto your plate.
After saying grace, you take turns going around the table, saying the things you’re most grateful for. Your brother mentions how grateful he is for all the tasty food on the table. Your mom talks about how thankful she is for being surrounded by such a loving family. Your grandmother says she’s blessed for all her grandchildren’s safe travels and their good health.
However, once the last Thursday of each November passes, how often do we deliberately make time to express our thankfulness?
Think about all the things that have happened today that you can be thankful for. Consciously run through your day, all the small acts of kindness that people may have performed for you, all the unsaid blessings that get overshadowed by the fast-paced hustle of everyday.
When we fall asleep at night or sit around the dinner table everyday, we’ve been conditioned to immediately default to discussing all the negative things that happened to us. We harp on who didn’t do their part on a group project or which coworker is getting under our skin.
Yes, Thanksgiving is an important and predetermined time to be thankful and reflect on our blessings. But why does it take a specifically marked day on a calendar for us to recognize how lucky we are?
Being thankful doesn’t require any initiative of action or extra energy that could be used elsewhere. It doesn’t consume time from our days or distract from our other priorities. Thankfulness only requires two things: being cognitive and remaining reflective.
By praising Thanksgiving the way that we do, we’re implying that there should only be one day a year when we designate time to express our gratitude. In the holiday’s traditions, we confirm that openly saying “thank you” is only required one day a year, and that ration of gratefulness is enough to last another 365 days.
Be thankful for the kind peer that waited a few extra seconds and held the door open for you, even though you were an awkward few steps behind. Be grateful for the kind smile from a stranger who expected nothing in return. When you settle down at the end of each day, don’t harp on the silly inconveniences that tinted your day, but acknowledge the small things that left your chin a little higher than it was before.
We feel uncomfortable expressing our gratitude any other day of the year because it feels awkward to openly credit our appreciation. It’s engrained in us to resort to the negatives without giving tribute to all the positives.
Thanksgiving can be a day when we recognize the big thanks. The thankfulness for our families, friends, and the opportunities we are provided. But everyday should be an occasion to say the small thanks, the thanks for a really hard laugh with friends or unexpected beautiful weather. Everyday is the day to say the small thanks about watching a really entertaining movie or having a successful workout.
We need to stop making a point to circle one day on the calendar to say “thank you,” and start circling the other 364 boxes as a designated time to be grateful as well.
