AUDIO - Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude
Nancy 
“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever.”
― Psalm 136:1
Many people in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving in November; we don't celebrate it here in Germany or my home country, Kenya, but the Internet makes the world a village, so we're aware of what's going on across the globe (Mostly at least) spirit.
If you live across the pond and celebrated, I hope you had some memorable moments this year to give thanks for at the dinner table conversations over the turkey meal.
Oh, let me guess, you quickly moved on?
That's OK; I understand if Thanksgiving feels like it was a long, long time ago. At the time of crafting this post, it was just 7 days ago...But do we have to wait for a day or season to be thankful?
Let's talk about it.
10 years ago, I published an episode with a short hadith in my personal development podcast. (Hadithi means story in Kiswahili). Back then, when I started the podcast, I'd tell stories on some episodes to communicate personal development and success concepts. The theme of episode #8 was thorns, roses, gratitude, and our well-being. Below is the short story, followed by the audio connecting the dots to Thanksgiving Holidays.
A Very Short Hadithi
“A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully. Before it blossomed, he examined it. He saw a bud that would soon blossom.
He also saw the thorns and thought,
"How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns?"
Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and before it was ready to bloom, it died.”
Reloaded Episode Takeaways
Isn't it that way with us sometimes?
We look at a person or situation, and we first see the thorns. Hello negativity bias - something I try to keep in check regularly.
When we focus on the "sharpness" we neglect to "water" the budding potential.
We complain, criticize, fault-find, or give up on people.
Sometimes, we even give up on ourselves. We stop watering our dreams and visions, and they die.
I believe within every soul, there is the potential to be like a beautiful rose that spreads a sweet-smelling aroma to those we encounter. There are unique divine qualities wired in us from birth, growing amidst the thorns of our imperfections. But many of us look at ourselves and focus on our shortcomings, idiosyncrasies, and defects. We despair, thinking nothing better than the status quo can possibly come from within us. When we neglect to water the good in us, eventually, it dies. We never realize our potential.
Due to challenges, we sometimes feel like life is a bed of sharp thorns. When we no longer see the rose within ourselves, it can take someone else to remind us the bud is still there among the thorns.
One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is the ability to reach past the thorns and find the rose within others. This is one of love's selfless and gracious characteristics - to know and accept another person with their strengths, shortcomings, warts, and all. To recognize their God-given potential and support them as they endeavor to grow and thrive amidst life's inevitable internal and external thorns.
When we choose to focus on the budding rose in others, we help them look past the thorns.
Now, this doesn't mean going through life with rose-colored glasses, ignoring red flags, toxic patterns, and dysfunction in ourselves and others. Toxic positivity, living in denial, and putting our heads in the sand is not healthy. I'm talking about being intentionally aware of what we choose to focus on constantly and the long-term decisions we make based on perspective.
Remember our farmer in the short story above?
He made a long-term decision based on a short-term perspective. But that doesn't have to be you and me. Because if we take our eyes off the thorns, watering and nurturing the tender bud, we may eventually see the rose blossom.
There is potential for beautiful, sweet-smelling “rosebuds” in our private and professional lives. The good news is that thorns and blossoms can coexist harmoniously. One doesn't negate the other. As with most things in life, it's all about balance.
Moral of Today's Short Story
Whatever the situation, if we don´t give up and keep watering each other, we can collectively and individually bloom in our purpose and potential gardens.
See, I believe in complimentary, not competitive, interpersonal dynamics. As we support others in recognizing and living out the best version of themselves, others do the same for us. Some call it karma; I call it the law of sowing and reaping, as it is written in the Book of Wisdom. (The Bible)
Because what we do unto others is, in turn, done unto us. Simple.
Gratitude never goes out of style.
One way we can water the good in our lives and others is by cultivating gratitude. Thanksgiving doesn't have to be a once-a-year event on the last Thursday of November, as I shared in the above episode back in 2014.
In between the 80+ episodes, there's been lots of personal and professional rebranding. Though the podcast is on a hiatus, I'm grateful for my listeners, subscribers, and the ability to repurpose this content 10 years later. Because any solopreneur/content creator will tell you coming up with fresh ideas from scratch is not easy peasy. Especially when on the road. I'm so thankful for the possibilities technology offers.
In conclusion, given what the researchers discovered about well-being and thankfulness -https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12585811/, cultivating an attitude of gratitude is not just a holiday thing we tick off in November. Now, over to you, what are three blessings you're thankful for today?
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Thank you for being here today!
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