Even though we are all gearing up for Christmas, counting down the days anxiously, racing to get presents, finding the perfect wrapping paper, and throwing decorations all over the house, let’s take a step back for a few minutes to look at a different holiday. That’s right, Thanksgiving. This is the day that we all get the chance to express our thanks for everything we have, cook and devour delicious food, all while spending time with family and friends. But right after this day, we get shoved right back into the world of materialism and the mindset of “mine” and “gimme”, and all of that thankfulness is thrown out of the window.
Now, Christmas is a great thing, it’s my favorite holiday! But nowadays, it’s missing something. It’s the thankfulness, and the slowing down of time that we experience to refresh your mind and cherish every moment. The spirit of Thanksgiving should be present in our lives every day. I’m not saying you should indulge in serving upon serving of food for every meal, but that even through Christmas and every other holiday of the year, we should always be thanking people and show our thankfulness through our words and our actions.
Too often we get sidetracked with the fast paced world around us and it’s time we took a step back.
In Rachel’s blog, she says that “Thanksgiving is that necessary ‘reset’ in [everyone’s] heart and mind to truly prepare [them] for Christmas”. I understand what she means because if we didn’t have that chance to think about why we are thankful, we would never value and learn to treasure the simplest things. Not every family in the world has the opportunities that we do and we tend to take advantage of it. Seeing everything that the Haitian children don’t have-like shoes, a nice house, and even a warm bed-it makes me thankful for the things that I have that I tend to take advantage of.
Now, Christmas is a great thing, it’s my favorite holiday! But nowadays, it’s missing something. It’s the thankfulness, and the slowing down of time that we experience to refresh your mind and cherish every moment. The spirit of Thanksgiving should be present in our lives every day. I’m not saying you should indulge in serving upon serving of food for every meal, but that even through Christmas and every other holiday of the year, we should always be thanking people and show our thankfulness through our words and our actions.
Too often we get sidetracked with the fast paced world around us and it’s time we took a step back.
In Rachel’s blog, she says that “Thanksgiving is that necessary ‘reset’ in [everyone’s] heart and mind to truly prepare [them] for Christmas”. I understand what she means because if we didn’t have that chance to think about why we are thankful, we would never value and learn to treasure the simplest things. Not every family in the world has the opportunities that we do and we tend to take advantage of it. Seeing everything that the Haitian children don’t have-like shoes, a nice house, and even a warm bed-it makes me thankful for the things that I have that I tend to take advantage of.
Rachel celebrated Thanksgiving in Haiti with the people from Mission of Hope and wrote about it in her most recent blog. Looking at the picture, you can see it’s a simple and humble setting. Nothing too flashy or expensive but when everyone sat around the table, it lit up the room more than any Christmas lights or decorations ever could.
The people in Haiti may not have everything and they may not even get what they want for Christmas but they have love, each other’s company, and most of all they are thankful. From living in Haiti for almost 4 years, Rachel has become one of the the most humble and down to earth people I know. Unlike many people living in America, she is always thankful for everything. Because the people in Haiti don’t have a bunch of “stuff” or aren’t obsessing over the “next best thing” that we constantly want to have, they are able to focus on what really matters, being thankful.
The people in Haiti may not have everything and they may not even get what they want for Christmas but they have love, each other’s company, and most of all they are thankful. From living in Haiti for almost 4 years, Rachel has become one of the the most humble and down to earth people I know. Unlike many people living in America, she is always thankful for everything. Because the people in Haiti don’t have a bunch of “stuff” or aren’t obsessing over the “next best thing” that we constantly want to have, they are able to focus on what really matters, being thankful.
Thankfulness is not just something that comes once a year on Thanksgiving. It should be a goal of ours to always keep that thankful mindset because eventually it will become a habit and we will be able to experience the real meaning of the holidays. One of Rachel’s goals is to have “the heart of being thankful” and to have it be the way she thinks 12 months out of the year. Notice that “art” in the word “heart” was bolded. That’s because being truly thankful has become so rare that it’s hard to rewire our brains and get out of the commercialism that Thanksgiving and Christmas have become. The holidays are almost another routine in our day to day basis and another item we have to mark off the list in order to get right back on track.
Well allow me to let you in on a little secret. In order to really get back on track, we need to first get off the tracks. This Christmas, I want to challenge you to be thankful for everything. Maybe you could even take it a step further and add it to your New Year’s resolutions. If we were all to have that mindset, the holidays would have so much more meaning. Living a thankful life will allow us to preserve that humility and be appreciative more often. Now I’m not just talking about presents… What I’m talking about is time with loved ones. Presents are great but once we enjoy the company of the people behind the gift, it means a lot more, The Haitians may not have a lot of things, but they have what they need and that’s time with friends and cherishing what you do have. Compared to the citizens in Haiti, they are far richer than us because they have what we’ve all been missing out on. It’s not about the presents and getting the things we want but being thankful for what we have and sharing precious time with those we love.
Only then can we enjoy the holidays like they were meant to be.
With thanks and giving,
- Alanna
Sources:
Quotes and inspiration from Rachel Durban's blog
"Give Thanks" picture from Randy Conley's blog
Well allow me to let you in on a little secret. In order to really get back on track, we need to first get off the tracks. This Christmas, I want to challenge you to be thankful for everything. Maybe you could even take it a step further and add it to your New Year’s resolutions. If we were all to have that mindset, the holidays would have so much more meaning. Living a thankful life will allow us to preserve that humility and be appreciative more often. Now I’m not just talking about presents… What I’m talking about is time with loved ones. Presents are great but once we enjoy the company of the people behind the gift, it means a lot more, The Haitians may not have a lot of things, but they have what they need and that’s time with friends and cherishing what you do have. Compared to the citizens in Haiti, they are far richer than us because they have what we’ve all been missing out on. It’s not about the presents and getting the things we want but being thankful for what we have and sharing precious time with those we love.
Only then can we enjoy the holidays like they were meant to be.
With thanks and giving,
- Alanna
Sources:
Quotes and inspiration from Rachel Durban's blog
"Give Thanks" picture from Randy Conley's blog