This article originally ran on November 18, 2016; the message is timeless, and we look forward to sharing it every year at this time. Happy Thanksgiving!
“When you rise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love! And then make that day count.”
– Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free
Thanksgiving weekend is considered to be the heaviest travel weekend of the year, but it’s different from most travel.
For most people Thanksgiving is a special day once a year for spending time with family or close friends. It’s not necessarily a trip back home in the geographical sense, but it’s a journey back home for the heart.
Most importantly, it is a day set aside for gratitude, and that is a beautiful thing. Being grateful is one of the best things you can do for yourself, and one of the easiest ways to improve your life.
“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around,” said Willie Nelson. When I heard that from Willie, I started to keep a Gratitude Journal.
I’ve seen the same basic principle stated a hundred different ways. Gratitude is the fundamental spiritual act. I claim no authority for this, but I have a feeling that gratitude is the foundation stone upon which all religions and spiritual practices are built.
An old maxim says, “Gratitude is riches and complaint is poverty,” and I have seen that principle in action. The simple act of being thankful is its own reward.
Traveling with the Half Full Glass
The principle certainly applies to travel. To a large extent your attitude will determine whether or not you will enjoy your trip.
Travel is a paradigm of life itself. We are all travelers here on this journey through life. The same principles apply to a trip as to the journey of life itself.
The attitude of gratitude is essential for getting the most out of traveling. It allows you to return to the state of mind of the very young, for whom all experience is new and thrilling. And if you are truly open, you will see that every day, every trip and every experience are truly once in a lifetime.
If you can appreciate all that you have received just by being alive, then you put yourself in the receptive frame of mind to appreciate all the good things of life.
The Mirror of Positive Thinking
In Norman Vincent Peale’s 1952 book, The Power of Positive Thinking, he described being approached by a 52-year old man who was despondent and in…
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