A Small Gratitude Takes Root
Feeling depressed? Make a gratitude list. Resentful? Get to a gratitude meeting. All you need is an attitude of gratitude.
It can border on the trite, the saccharine, the listing small blessings for which one might be grateful: the rain didn’t become torrential until after I got home, that driver let me merge into the exit lane, I caught a whiff of azalea, my favorite pair of jeans are clean, my brand of peanut butter is on sale, I heard the grumpy crossing guard laughing with a passing child this afternoon.
Out of Gratitude, Generosity
Now, Pumpkins* isn’t a typical Thanksgiving story. And it might not even really fit our monthly theme of generosity. The man was creative and acted with a sense of whimsy and determination, an admirable sort, but he didn’t send his four hundred sixty-one thousand, two hundred and twelve pumpkins all around the world out of generosity.
What If It's Not a Fresh New Start?
Do you remember this final Calvin and Hobbes comic strip? The boy and his tiger pal perched on their toboggan at the top of a hill of untouched, untrodden snow. The world looks brand new, the pair say, a new year…a fresh, clean start! It’s like having a big white piece of paper to draw on! A day full of possibilities! It’s a magical world, Hobbes, ol’ buddy! Let’s go exploring!