The Month of Gratitude

The month of Novmenber has to be one of my favorite months. I have never been a big fan of holidays (ask my family), but Thanksgiving is an exception. I enjoy the symbolism and religious meaning associated with the other holidays, but I feel they have been too commercialized and that we lose sight of what the point is. I would be lying if I told you I didn't enjoy all of the wonderful food associated with Thanksgiving, but the holiday encompasses so much more than my love for great food. It seems to be the one time of year that everyone, myself included, is forced to think about the things we are grateful for. 

I feel that gratitiude is something that we often overlook. It is so easy to focus on the illusive curveballs that life throws our way that we forget to remember the blessings we have in life. I know that I spend most of my time sulking over the things that I deem unfair. My daily life is dictated in my subconcious by the things that go wrong. I remember getting a speeding ticket or a co-worker drinking the last cup of coffee, but I forget to remember the blessing of owning a car or having a job in the first place. In fact, I would be willing to bet that you and I could make a longer list of things that went wrong today compared to those things that went well. For those of you that can win that bet, props to you. The fact of the matter is that we all would be a lot happier if we treated every month like November. Facebook, one of my greatest sources of news these days, is jam packed with things people are happy for. This is a nice alternative to the "my world is falling apart" statuses that seem to dominate the Facebook world every other month of the year. But like they say, "misery loves company."

One of the things I love most about my parents is their inability to let me sulk. Believe me, I often call them simply wanting to hear them say, "Yes Preston, it is okay to be upset about this." Much to my chagrin, they never let me win that battle. They often concede that it is an unfair situation, but they always remind me of their "life is not fair" philosophy. A dark and ominious philosophy, maybe, but fitting nonetheless. The worst part is the fact that they always point out the blessings or life lessons hidden in my laundry list of struggles. By forcing me to focus on the good things they make it almost impossible to be upset about anything, almost. The lessons they have taught me hold more value to me than any other thing I will ever acquire. 

I don't mean to imply that I am a gratitude guru, as I am likely one that has the most to learn. Those of you that know me well can vouch for the fact that I tend to be slightly pessimisstic and that my thoughts are easily consumed by the negative factors in life. In fact, this blog is more for me than anyone else, sorry for my selfishness. Rather than post my list of things I am thankful for over each day for the rest of the month I have chosen to list 30 things that I am thankful for below. I hope that this post has in some way forced you to reflect on the things that you are thankful for this holiday season. If nothing else, I hope it at least provided some comic relief after a long Monday. Regardless, I hope that things are well with you and that life continues to treat you well. 

1. My family

2. My education

3. My faith

4. My job

5. My friends

6. Books

7. Social Media and Facetime

8. Living in the wonderful United States of America

9. Starbucks, yum. 

10. My health

11. Freedom

12. Movies

13. Pickles

14. Football

15. Prairie Lakes Church

16. Buffalo Wild Wings

17. Oskaloosa, Iowa

18. The election is over

19. The U.S. military

20. The University of Northern Iowa
21. Days off work
22. My mother's cooking
23. Peanut Butter
24. Knowing that I am loved
25. Growing up in the Midwest
26. Beer, I promise I am not an alcoholic. 
27. Nature
28. Ground Transportation- I hate flying!
29. Music
30. A place to call home