A Day to Focus on Grace and Gratitude

Over 400 years ago, the US began the tradition we are celebrating today as Thanksgiving. History books tell us that it was a celebration of the successful harvest by the Plymouth colonists, along with the Wampanoag people. This meant that the harsh New England winter would be survivable for these Europeans, at least from a nutrition standpoint. Those early settlers gave thanks and expressed their gratitude to “providence” for providing them both the outer and inner resources that helped them manage those challenging times.

Another word for providence is grace. To me grace is part of the tag team, along with power, that are the two most important ingredients for a truly successful and happy life. You can think of power as inner resolve and actions you take in your own self-interest and grace as the blessings of the universe that you receive and work with to enhance your life. Both concepts offer deeper meaning, as I am exploring in my new book, but this brief explanation is a good starting point.

Today, Thanksgiving, is about realizing and accepting grace in our lives, grace from within as well as the people and circumstances we are surrounded by. It is no accident that the day focuses on having abundant food on the table, although in today’s culinary mega-sphere, we often overlook the simplicity of a nutritious and beneficial meal eaten along with others we care about.

Here are some other aspects of grace I am grateful for, not just today but every day:

·      The miracle of health and being alive at all.

·      The abundance that life has given me on all fronts, notably my 2 wonderful daughters.

·      My journey to pursue vibrant health over the past 20 years, inspired by my daughters, which has enabled me to experience a regular sense of the wonder of life that I only had glimpses of before.

·      The power to overcome a difficult childhood and, despite scars, to be able to recognize the challenges and continue addressing (and overcoming) them.

·      And lots more.

May you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday. Enjoy and appreciate every bite, but don’t eat too much. And rather than focus on who you’d rather be and what you don’t have, try to be grateful for who you are and what you do have in your life—not just today but every day. The miracle of life is being who you are.