Happy Thanksgiving

Fostering an attitude of gratitude
Charter Oak-Ute NEWSpaper Schleswig Leader, Thursday, November 23, 2006 Page 3

A friend of mine recently had to tangle with a bureaucrat at a college over some paperwork relating to their teaching license. The clerk couldn’t have been less accommodating toward my friend. This was not merely inconvenient (red tape never is) but since the institution they were dealing with was my friend’s Alma matter, it felt like a betrayal by one’s family.
Another friend needed to unload in an E-mail. They’ve been working their tail off trying to do a good job serving their customers. They had hoped to be excited about introducing some new features. But instead of appreciation, they were met only with complaints.
“You show favoritism toward so-and-so, where’s such and such? Why don’t you ever do this or I didn’t like this, I want more of that...” My friend was very discouraged.
Frankly, I’m not a positive person myself, by nature. If anything I tend to be pretty melancholy- on a good day I may be a skeptical, sarcastic curmudgeon and on a bad day I can be a mopey, depressed basket case. Being lassoed into coaching cheerleading some years ago may have helped me to not become a total wreck.
After reading several books on cheerleading I was confronted with the fact that cheerleaders need to have a positive attitude.
So how does one become more positive, polite and personable?
It seems to me that this Thanksgiving holiday, we could all stand to start by spending less time worrying or complaining about what we don’t have and spend more of our energy appreciating all the blessings that we DO have.
For one thing, it is powerful medicine to remind yourself that the most important things in life aren’t things.
Think about how Jimmy Stewart’s character George Bailey complained about his drafty old house that was falling apart in the Holiday classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.” All the time he was surrounded by a beautiful wife and kids who loved him. At the end of the film the angel Clarence reminds George that “no man is a failure who has friends.”
It is important to keep “things” in perspective. Do we love things and use people or love people and merely use things.
Another trick is to appreciate the little things. Even simple, mundane things should be seen as blessings.
Singing is free. What would life be like without jokes? Trees were a great idea. Coffee smells good, feels warm and tastes rich. Eyelids are very useful. Think about all the things you take for granted and be grateful for them.
Smile at people, say hello, and thank them. Thank your parents, thank the kid who serves you your burger, thank a soldier for their service to our country. Say thank you. You’d be amazed at how meaning full it is.
Most of us forget to give thanks, but by God, if we think that something is wrong, we sure as heck don’t forget to complain or criticize.
Certainly we need to make sure that we thank God for all He’s blessed us with, but I bet He’ll like it if we work harder at remembering to thank people even for the smallest things that they do for us- even when we assume that its their responsibility to serve us in the first place.
Many authors recommend starting every morning giving Him thanks. He deserves it and it is a good way to start your day in a good mood.
Hard up for what to be thankful for this Thanksgiving? Try taking a look at Philippians 4:8 and challenge your family members and dinner guests to come up with as many items as you can in each category:
“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things... And the God of peace will be with you.”