ALT-10 Taking Time to Give thanks
Living in the Philippines, we do not celebrate Thanksgiving Day. In fact, during the time I visited my family who lives in New York I was quite amazed at how Americans devote time and preparations for this important day. It made me wonder what the significance of Thanksgiving Day is. Thanksgiving Day is being celebrated every fourth Thursday of November. It is a special time for family and friends to get together and be thankful for all the blessings they have received. It is a day commemorating the first settlers who landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts sometime late 1620. For this reason, it has been an American tradition that every year there is a day to be reminded to give thanks for all the good (and the bad) that happened in each ones life. Yes! Whether you are feeling up or down—there are so many things why have to be thankful.
Health
Well, it doesn't have to be because you are 100% germ free or cold free. Maybe you just had an accident or recovering from a serious illness, it is still a reason to be thankful. Several years ago, while driving home in a motorcycle, it was dark and raining. I overlooked a hump on the road which caused me to lose control and fell from the bike. It was indeed a blessing that I was wearing a helmet so when my head hit the pavement, it was the helmet that broke. For several days, I was in bed nursing a terrible headache and getting dizzy spells but my life changed after that scary encounter with death.
Family
We are who we are because of the people in our lives. Whether we have a good or bad relationship with the people that we call family—they play an important role in the shaping of our identity. As I have always mentioned before, there is no perfect family. It is this very moment that we should stop and reflect how blessed we are that we are part of a family. Orphans have no one to call family. They wait for people to adopt them into their families and make them belong.
Material Blessings
Not because we have a great looking house, high paying jobs that we can afford to buy every luxury available or the grandest car for us to be thankful for the material blessings. Instead, we should be thankful for the house we live in filled with the warmth and love shared by the people we love. Our jobs may be simple but it enables us to feed our family. If we don't have a car, be thankful that there are still other ways to commute to work and places we want to go.
Every bad thing in life
This would include problems, discouragement, failures and pain. Everything happens for a reason. It is really up to us to look at all the bad things that happened as opportunities for growth, a chance to become a better person. We take hold of our lives not only the good but the bad experiences as well. At this point when life seems difficult and you do not know where it is leading you, have faith and hang on. Life gets better in time.
Finally, be thankful for Someone up there is in control of our lives. During the lowest point in our life, we are blessed with an inner strength that helps us get through each day, each month and each year. There might not be a Thanksgiving Day in the Philippines (which is such a shame) but wherever we are, it would be very good to celebrate Thanksgiving Day because there are so much to be thankful for in our lives!
