T is for Thankful

This is one of those self-care posts and I’ll try not to sound too much like Pollyanna.

Take a minute to be thankful for what you have. As we are seeing, those things we take for granted can disappear with the stroke of a tyrant’s pen. But today it is still possible to post and speak against the government. People are outraged by the goings on and are beginning to hold people accountable. It’s a start.

But even closer to home than that is the practice of being thankful for all small things. Let’s face it, most of us have 1^st world problems like not having enough pasta for a salad or finding that the trash pickup has been delayed. Most of us have homes, food, a car, a phone, friends—and no one is dropping bombs in our living rooms. Appreciate those things.

It’s related to the habit of positive self-talk. Be careful what you say to yourself because your subconscious is listening and it doesn’t understand sarcasm.

I’m trying to adopt healthier habits. When I catch myself being negative, I switch right away to something positive or thankful.

So today I was moaning about the prospect of dealing with a chicken house that had fallen into disrepair. It seemed like somebody else should be doing this and why do I have to clean up this mess when I didn’t make it and on and on.

All true, by the way, but not useful things to dwell on.

So I switched to a more positive frame of mind by remembering that five years ago, I was in chemo and could barely put one foot in front of another. Two years ago, I was recovering from a busted kneecap, hobbling around with a walker. Today, I still limp but that damn chicken house is tidied up and snake proof and ready for my five little chickies to take residence later today. I am endlessly thankful that the chemo worked and that my knee healed without drama.

It’s easy to find something to gripe about—especially now—but that will eat you alive.

Take time to put a thankful spin on things. There is a silver lining—somewhere. Our government seems on the brink, but it hasn’t fallen yet. People are standing up. The courts are holding. Even some of the laziest and most worthless legislators are beginning to worry about what will happen when this regime fails.

Be thankful and then work to preserve all those things you are thankful for.