Thanks Giving or Giving Thanks?

In today’s materialistic world we sometimes get a bad case of the “poor me’ and “I want” syndrome which I think is a real deficit mentality. Like the common cold it won’t kill you but it sure gets you down.  I’ve suffered from this syndrome myself in the past and know I’m bound to catch it again in the future.  Not sure if you can develop immunity to the condition but there are ways to decrease your susceptibility and its negative impact.

In the United States they have just celebrated Thanksgiving Day, a national holiday giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. It has its historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, and has long been celebrated in a secular manner as well. I think this is a great idea and we should all take it one step further.   I think that every day we should “give thanks” and be grateful by showing appreciation for things both great and small in our lives. 

What does this look like in every day terms?  Well, this is how it played out in my day today.

As another school year comes to an end, my daughter decided she would like to thank her teacher for all her hard work and dedication throughout the year.  Being an avid scrap booker, I decided I would make her a “Thank You” card.  So this morning my daughter took the card to school so she could get all her class mates to sign it before giving it to her teacher.  She felt the teacher might like to keep it as a memento of the time she spent with the students.  Nice idea hey!

 Image my surprise, later today when I opened my e-mails to receive a Digital Card from my daughters teacher ‘thanking me’ for all my support during the year.  I was delighted and gob smacked.  I felt a bit like a member of a “mutual admiration society”.  In addition, I saw this as a possible opening to pursuing a closer connection - with the view of forming a friendship with her (especially now my daughter will no longer be in her class and my exploration of a closer relationship could not be misconstrued as wanting favoritism for my child - brown nosing as we call it in Australia). 

The blessings on this day just kept coming.  Yep more “thank yous’ were delivered to my door, via the mail man.  I received a card from my friend and colleague Merna who is also the co- founder of Soul Sister Circles. . 

I felt appreciated and appreciative at the same time.  Thank You Merna for making my day even more special.  Who could ask for more than a good friend who values you and is prepared to be your cheer squad? 

You might not think the day could get any better, but it did.  My daughter came home from school with a report card that shows she is excelling in all areas.  In addition, she was named next year’s School Captain and will be in a class with her best friend.  I am so proud of her and her achievements.  Yep. It certainly has been a day of recognition and appreciation for me.  What about you?  How has your day/year been? What are you Thankful for?Would also love to hear about your own challenges and management of the "poor me syndrome" .