Give Thanks... Its Good For You & Forgive

Thanksgiving... a time of the year which reminds some of us to be more aware of the things in our life which we are thankful for. While it may not be on daily basis, I count my blessings year round as I believe gratitude is a powerful emotion and being grateful just plain feels good to me. Growing up, my mom would come into my room each night to tuck me in to bed and we would say I simple prayer together:

 "Now I lay me down to sleep I pray the lord my soul to keep, if i should die before i wake i give the lord my sol to take..."

Once we finished the prayer I would then go through a list of people, in my head, family members, friends and sometimes even neighbors who let me play in their yard or my favorite teachers who always made class fun, my dog Heidi and even my hamster Jimmy {im sure you get the point} I would talk about all things that made me happy to have these people in my life and how thankful for them I was. Sometimes at night I still go through this childhood ritual as it feels to be an age old routine and I give thanks... Through the years I continually find more things to be thankful for and more ways to show appreciation for those things, tangible or not...

I recently read a quote which reminded me of quality I confidently possess, which I am most thankful for:
True forgiveness is not an action after the fact, it is an attitude with which you enter each moment...    -David Ridge
This quote brings to mind the cliche line that no one is perfect, and while I know this to be true it seems as though sometimes we continue to punish ourselves and others for the smallest deviation from this so called perfect path. Forgiving all deviations is not always a possibility, but why punish yourself and sustain the anger inside that a grudge beholds? I am thankful to not be one of those people {one that holds a grudge} but with that said, I am completely in tune with the truth that of all people, I myself, am nowhere near perfect. The opposite of taking things for granted is to be thankful for them... and when you are thankful for the good in your life, the good grows and we have more of it. Sadly, the opposite of this is also all too true... when you fail to appreciate the good, when you take the good things for granted, the good depreciates... As being thankful is good the soul, forgiving is good for the heart... and the body as well as the soul. When you appreciate the good, the good appreciates...  There's no playbook for forgiveness, no manual to getting past betrayals, disappointments or hurt, but more over it is a life skill most anyone can possess. Forgiving is good and I am thankful I posses this quality in life...