This past week was Thanksgiving, and it had me reflecting on everything that I am thankful for! In the midst of my daily life, I often find myself being distracted and not taking the time to sit down and reflect on all of my blessings. I know that when I feel the weight of the world toppling over me it’s difficult to find anything I am grateful for. So, having said that, I thought it would be fitting to make a list to inspire any readers that may be going through a tough time, or simply just need something to lift their spirits in times of stress.
1. Family Photo Books
Whenever I am feeling down I always look at the scrapbooks my mom makes during every major family occasion. If you don’t have a mom as crafty as mine, then collect some old photographs of you with some family members and make a scrapbook of your own. The best part about that is that you can customize it however you like, instead of having it like my mom’s scrapbooks that looks like a sticker book threw up all over them… One of my greatest blessings is my family: my dog, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, grandparents, and those strangers I meet at family gatherings that always tell me how tiny I was the last time they saw me (I was 2). Regardless of who they are, I’m grateful to be surrounded by so much warmth and love. Whenever I feel a lack of love, whether that be internal or external, I always look through my pictures to remind myself of how many people love and care about me.
2. Friends
My friends are super important to my well-being. They give me advice, honesty, and a second opinion when I’m doubting myself. They always know how to lift up my spirits and make me laugh when I’m feeling down. Despite that, sometimes I can feel like I’m the only person out of my friend group dealing with stress. Whether it be that I’m stressed about school, the elections, or angry at the score my professor gave me on my exam, I feel like the weight of the world is toppling over only my shoulders sometimes. So, when this happens, I do whatever I can to remind myself that I am not alone. I reach out to my friends and vent out to them about my frustrations, and usually they are dealing with the same things I am stressing out about. Sometimes I even look through old Facebook albums my friends made or old videos we filmed on my phone to make me laugh. I find it so easy to isolate myself in times of stress, but reminding myself that I am not alone and have people that care about me (no matter how small) makes me remember how truly blessed I am.
3. Daily Amenities
It is too common amongst our society to find people who are constantly complaining about their shortcomings or any other miniscule thing. “I don’t have enough money,” “I have no clothes,” “I wish I had their body,” “I can’t believe this place doesn’t have wi-fi,” “I hate school, I wish I didn’t have to go.” A lot of the time people even have the audacity to complain about having the privilege to get an education or how they’re going to move to Canada because Trump won the election. I hope this sounds as ridiculous when you read it off your computer screen as it does in my head. I think that so many people have grown so used to the way they live that they keep on craving more and more, and that is understandable; I too fall prey to this. As humans we are constantly evolving, trying to improve and one up the person we were yesterday or the year before. However, if we take the time to sit down and actually evaluate then we would realize we’re being selfish and ungrateful. I don’t mean to sound so harsh, but it is true. There are people in this country that don’t have a roof over their head, access to food, clean water, or who can even dream of the idea of having a new iPhone. Maybe we should convert all of the negative energy we put out into this world by complaining and use it to make the world a better place.
I don’t mean to sound all depressing and make you feel bad if you have done some of these things, I’m strictly trying to make a point to stay aware of your blessings and remember them when you are feeling down or inspired to make a comment about how many flaws or setbacks you may have. Post-election and now post-Thanksgiving, with a massive food coma might I add, I am becoming more aware of how truly blessed I am. It’s a shame that I am only able to realize these things when I experience the worst of times, but that is why I strongly believe in the idea of “counting your blessings.” Even if your blessings differ from mine, if you take the time to do a little bit of self-reflecting you will surprised at the list of things you can compile to be grateful and give thanks for! Hopefully you too did some soul-searching during the past month, and especially today when you’re most likely surrounded by loved ones and good food. Because I know that I’m grateful for everything on this list, and then some, and especially to all of you for taking the time to read my article, whether or not you learned anything from it!
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