Give Thanks

It is too easy to look at the world and to see only suffering, misery and hardship. Depending on how you focus your mind, you can see completely different views of the world than someone in the same house as you. This is because reality is relative. By that I mean the world you see, and the reality you live in, is in many ways dependent on what you choose to focus upon. Suffering or happiness are both a choice, one we make every second of every day of our lives. We choose to see the lesson in the failure, or we see a reason to hate ourselves. We see the life that rain gives, or we complain about the cloudy sky. We ask “why me?” instead of seeing the miracle that is our ability to even comprehend our existence in the first place. The ability to see the good in your life and this world regardless of circumstance is what will determine your level of happiness. The amount you focus on the bad, including guilt from the past and anxiety about the future, will determine how much you suffer.

           This Thanksgiving, did you find yourself complaining about a relative you didn’t like? Worrying about your calorie intake or how to afford Christmas presents this year? Where was your focus? Was it on all the things going wrong in your life or were you in an imaginary world of the past or future, choosing to suffer about something that you can’t change or that doesn’t exist? You need to realize that you are constantly making those choices by deciding what to focus on. Instead of being thankful to have family you focused on the aspects that annoy you. Instead of cherishing the fact that you will not go hungry today you criticized yourself for the amount you ate. And instead of loving the time you spent warm and indoors surrounded by loved ones, your mind was in the future, suffering over money and the meaningless material objects it can or can’t give to you.

      Bad things happen to everyone, that is a part of life. It is your choice on whether you will suffer because of those hardships, or if you will learn from them, become stronger, and continue to focus on all the good in the world and in your life. Next time something bad happens, do what you can to make the situation better, and then let it go. If you can’t help it anymore, there is no more reason to focus your mind and energy on it. You have done what you can, and now you have a choice to be happy or to stick on that moment and punish yourself over and over again and suffer. When you feel your thoughts creeping to grief or guilt over you past, fear or anxiety about the future, or just focusing on the things going wrong in your life, recognize this and stop it immediately. Think of something that makes your happy, think of something going right in your life, or don’t think at all and just be present in this moment and all the beauty it has to offer. The very fact that you can think, breath and feel are miracles that you can always be thankful for.

      Don’t just give thanks at one moment of one holiday a year, give thanks every moment of your life. Be thankful for every breath and every step you take. Cherish the wind on your face and the air in your lungs. Look into the eyes of a friend, family member or coworker and love the moment you get to spend in connection with another human being. Choose to focus your mind on the good in your life and this world and put your energy toward increasing the positivity in your environment and the lives of those around you. It is amazing how much there is to be thankful for once all of your focus and drive goes towards magnifying the good in the universe. It is amazing how much reality depends on your own choices.