The real gift of gratitude is that the more grateful you are, the more present you become. —Robert Holden
The Thanksgiving Issue
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/november-25-2022-the-thanksgiving-issue/
In the United States we have Thanksgiving break this week, but this issue isn’t about the holiday, it’s about the noun. Thanksgiving is “an expression of gratitude,” according to Dictionary.com. It makes me realize that thanksgiving occurs only when we acknowledge the things that we are grateful for in life.
It think it’s easy to think thanksgiving is something we can check off a list like all of the other tasks. Returned the parent email—check; completed my daily run—check; thankful for a break from school—check.
What I’ve realized is that although gratitude is an exercise, a discipline to put into practice, it is also the fuel for peace. When I’m feeling harried, I take a deep breath and find the thanksgiving.
I’m thankful for the dirty dishes because it means we have plenty of food.
I’m thankful for the full email inbox because it means people want to be in touch with me.
I’m thankful for the pile of student writing because it is evidence of confident and prolific writers.
By turning the stress inside out we can discover thanksgiving. In this act, we are given the gift of enjoying the present moment. Try it.
1. What is causing you stress?
2. Take a deep breath and flip the stress to find the thanksgiving.
The more often I flip the stressors in my life to turn them into thanksgiving, the more content I feel. This week we offer three free articles that show how to flip the stress to find the gratitude in the work we do.
You can find one of them here on building routines for gratitude (most of the ideas can be adapted for older students): https://choiceliteracy.com/article/routines-for-building-gratitude/
Shine on,
Ruth Ayres, Editor in Chief
No comments:
Post a Comment