Gratitude In Our Awareness

November is the month citizens of the United States celebrate the holiday Thanksgiving. Bringing awareness to things we are thankful for establishes a sense of good will and ushers in the remainder of the holiday season. For me, the warm fuzzies of family and friends take me back to a place in my childhood surrounded by parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles.Today, my grandparents are gone, and so is my father. I remember the last Thanksgiving we shared with dad. I wasn’t planning to spend it with dad and mom. Actually, my father had been very ill for over a year and my mother had arranged for constant care of him as she and my brothers were to travel 600 miles to my home and celebrate the holiday. My mom really needed the rest and a break from the care of my dad. He had been in a nursing home for a year, but my mom continued to spend fifteen to eighteen hours a day with him, ensuring every need was taken care of.

Dad had actually gone to the nursing home the year prior, and I had traveled to Ohio . My brothers, mom, and I had prepared food and taken it to the nursing home and we had reserved a special room where the entire family could spend the afternoon sharing memories, taking pictures, and enjoying each other. We have some really nice pictures of the family with dad. I am grateful for those memories.

So, forward to the last year I had my dad. Mom needed a break, and we had talked her into leaving dad for just a few days and traveling to see me at my home. I had gone grocery shopping and filled 2 carts with food. As soon as I entered my home with the food, I saw there were 6 messages on my phone. All the calls were from Ohio . My dad had taken a turn for the worse, and instead of the family traveling to North Carolina , I went home. We spent Thanksgiving with dad as a family, and the last time I saw dad, I told him I was leaving to go back home for a few days but would return the next week. He had a tear flow down his cheek. Maybe he knew I wouldn’t see him again.

Six years have passed since that Thanksgiving. My heart is full of gratitude for my parents and family. Awareness of gratitude is abundant during this time of year. However, the habit of gratitude is something we need to adopt all year round. Gratitude may not be something we automatically think of as important in the day to day hustle of our busy lives.

One activity I that has become habit for me now, is to have a daily time when I stop and pay attention to my breathing. I find a time to relax in a comfortable position. I love to sit back in the recliner, and get totally comfortable. I then become aware of my breathing. Awareness to my in-breaths and my out-breaths is realized and I will continue this for a minute or two, allowing stressors and concerns of the day to leave. I will then bring to my remembrance something I have gratitude for. This has become habit for me. Not only has this caused me to have a definite time of relaxation with awareness to my breathing, but I am filled with gratitude for many things in my life on a daily basis and many days more often.

This week take time to be more aware of your breathing, your surroundings and the things you have gratitude for. Then, allow it to become a part of you daily, and not just a season or month during the year. Notice the positive change this brings into your life. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Be aware. Be grateful.