What It Now Means To Me To Give Thanks

So here we are, lined up grabbing our grub, piling on so many delectable delights that our heads are swimming. Our stomachs are aching with the anticipation of that first bite. The juicy turkey the tart yams, the wonderful tang of that plump green olive, all await us. Oh and lets not forget the pies.. just look at them! Sitting there majestically positioned glistening in the light of the kitchen. The reward following the dietary battle we are about to undertake.

We have waited all day, heck all year for what we are about to taste. The smells the warmth, the muffled noise of conversations from those that you surely don't see often enough circles above the dinning room table. The soft mum of the football game trailing in from the den where of course Dallas is winning again! Ah yes...this is Thanksgiving. The one day out of the year where we are expected to overstuff ourselves, reconnect with long-lost relatives and friends and of course, give thanks. Give thanks?

I don't know about you but until recently the GIVE THANKS part sort of got in the way of the GET TO THE EATING part. That was until I started to really wake up. To really understand and appreciate all that I have been given. The gifts that life has bestowed upon me. My family, my friends, all of the amazing people I have met over the past few months. Yes, my life is thankfully different than it was just one year ago today. I am in such a different world that the path I have taken from there to here is almost incomprehensible. Yes, there is much to give thanks for.

It might sound like a cliché but how many of us truly give thanks for the lives that we lead. How many people take the time to reflect on where they have come from and how, if like many, are lucky at all to even be here? Everyone talks about the end of the year; time to start planning for the upcoming year, setting goals and determining what I need to do. But I challenge this thought. Why wait until something concludes such as an entire year to look back and plan forward? I think in all honesty, Thanksgiving might be a more appropriate time to start this train of thought.

Giving thanks for me is no longer a cliché but a duty. I have to take the time to stop this hectic life of mine and appreciate all that has happened and anticipate all that life will give to me over the next twelve months. One thing is for sure, where I stand today, the Tuesday before this year's Thanksgiving, will be remarkably different exactly one year from now.

I hope you find your reason for giving THANKS this Thanksgiving. Heck, if you feel like sharing, please share it with us. We would love to hear it!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and thank each of you for touching my life as you have!

Ripple On!

Steve