gratefulness exposed.

Well, here it is -- the almost cliché Thanksgiving post. But it’s not cliché – because it’s Thanksgiving, and it’s such an opportune time to contemplate on how grateful we all are.

Too often in this modern world we live in instead of expressing the things we are thankful for, we express our problems, concerns, and complaints. Although these all have a place, dwelling on the positive more will help us to dwell on those other things less.

Here’s my most recent example. When I started college I didn’t really love it. I’m pretty sure there were times when I didn’t even like it. Which wasn’t good. I kept focusing on all the things I didn’t like & all the things that weren’t quite up to my expectation. Then something changed. I couldn’t tell you when that change happened exactly, but I can tell you what changed. I started to be grateful for my lovely friends, and more specifically my fabulous roomie, Miss Harris. Once I started to focus on the things & people I loved I suddenly had a better attitude and began to love college. (& I still do now)

So anyway, the point of this verging-on-really-long-post: the holidays can be really crazy with a lot of downs, but there are always many ups. Even little ones such as—I’m grateful sticky notes were invented. & I challenge you to sit down, and take some personal time to write or type the things you are most grateful for down. It can take 2 minutes or 2 hours, it’s all up to you. & then share them. Tell the people you’re grateful for that you are, tell God what you’re thankful for, and hey next time you want to post or tweet something negative, share something you’re grateful for. Here are a few things I’m grateful for:

I’m grateful for my family. I’m grateful for my bf.* I’m grateful for the temple. I’m grateful for the church. I’m grateful for the mountains. I’m grateful for hiking. I’m grateful for music. I’m grateful for photographs. I’m grateful for unrelated family. I’m grateful for my school. I’m grateful for clothes. I’m grateful for travel. I’m grateful for words. I’m grateful for food I can eat. I’m grateful for sticky notes with sweet and funny notes on them. I’m grateful for fun. I’m grateful for laughter. I’m grateful for missionaries. I’m grateful for technology. I’m grateful for the chances to leave technology behind. I’m grateful for the sun. I’m grateful for rain. I’m grateful for snow. I’m grateful for friends of every kind. I’m grateful for the priesthood. I’m grateful for the ocean waves I can currently hear out my window. I’m grateful for lists. & so so so many more things. But for your sake, I’ll leave it at that.

*(bestest friend)