Thursday is Thanksgiving in the United States, and while eating delicious food and spending time with family and friends is all part of this holiday, I think it’s also important to reflect on its true meaning: a time to count one’s blessings. I keep a gratitude journal all year long. Each night before I go to bed, I list at least three things I was grateful for that day.
Gratitude is a powerful force. It shifts your mood and your thoughts from a place of lack to a place of abundance. Gratitude is all about being in the present moment, and appreciating what’s around you.
Several years ago, I started my tradition of making a “Thanksgiving ABC’s” list. Some of the items on the list repeat year after year, others are new. Here’s this year’s list:
A: Allegra
B: Books
C: Cape May, New Jersey
D: Downton Abbey. I became obsessed with the series this year, and I loved the movie.
E: Eating out – one of my great pleasures in life
F: Friends
G: Gingerbread. But not just any gingerbread, it has to be the German kind.
H: Hallmark Channel Christmas movies. I know, they’re about as hokey as things get, but to me, they’re the ultimate stress relief.
I: my independence
J: Jonathan Van Ness. I had a chance to meet him earlier this year, and he was just as lovely and positive in person as he is on the show.
K: Kindness
L: Lazy Sundays
M: Music
N: Netflix. Queer Eye, Kominsky Method, Schitt’s Creek, The Great British Baking Show are just a few of my favorites.
O: Oranges and Clementines. I’m obsessed with citrus fruit in the winter months and add them to my salads almost every day.
P: Prime, as in Amazon Prime. From fast shipping to music to movies and TV shows, I use it all the time.
Q: Queen (the band)
R: Ruby
S: Sun puddles. I think I was probably a cat in another life.
T: Torties!
U: Unscheduled time
V: Veterinarians and veterinary staff, for all they do to make cats’ lives better
W: Walking. My daily walks are exercise, meditation and sanity saver all in one for me.
X: X-mas. Even though I’m not crazy about this abbreviation of Christmas, I can never think of anything else that starts with X, and I do love Christmas!
Y: Yoga pants, aka my work wardrobe!
Z: the Zoomies – it’s what I call it when Ruby races through the house like a crazy kitten for no reason at all
What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?
Love your list. Happy Thanksgiving.
I’m thankful for both the humans and non humans in my life, food on my table, a home to live in and a nice warm bed to sleep in at night, and especially for my G d who created me and a country where I can worship him.
Ingrid, I love this idea and would like to use it on my own blogsite if that is okay with you. My version will feature writing and cats.
Of course you can use this idea, Mollie! Writing and cats sound like wonderful things to be thankful for to me 🙂
I’m disappointed that Ruby is so low on the list! I feel she should be number two..
Well, she really is number one (but shhh, don’t tell Allegra! 🙂 )
Love this! We all have so much to be grateful for. Today I am grateful for our friends Ingrid, Allegra & Ruby at The Conscious Cat that give us the gift of knowledge & friendship so we can be better kitty parents everyday! Happy Thanksgiving =^..^=
Ingrid, I love this idea! I’m going to make a list in the next couple of days. What a wonderful idea to focus on all we have to be thankful for.
I’m grateful for The Conscious Cat showing up in my inbox every day! Also, Ancient Christianity designated The Christ with an X or a fish drawing to hide their presence from disapproving Roman authorities. An X on a door might be a signal of a meeting tonight..etc. 😉