five things to be thankful for:
As its name implies, Thanksgiving is a time when we give thanks for all that we are fortunate enough to have in our lives. Food, shelter, health, love, family, friends… As a general rule, no matter how bad things may sometimes seem, we’ve all got a lot for which to be thankful. Here are some of the seemingly small things many women take for granted:
Freedom: and I don’t mean this in the political sense we’re always hearing about on the news. Whether you’re single or in a relationship, you have power over the decisions you make. Sometimes they’re harder than others, but the simple truth is that you create your own reality by the choices you make. So if you’re single, choose to make the most of your time with yourself - don’t sit around waiting for a man to complete you - complete yourself and a man to compliment you will come. And if you’re involved, remember who you are independent of your partner. The best way to have a healthy, happy relationship is to be two individuals… you know the saying - the whole is only as strong as its parts. It applies to relationships perhaps most of all!
Alone time: even if it’s just ten minutes a day, you grow when you get to collect yourself, your thoughts and your feelings. We sometimes have a tendency to avoid alone time. Whether it’s because we think it’s boring or lonely or just something we can’t afford to spare the seconds for in the course of our busy day to day lives, time to we take for ourselves is the time that shapes our lives and we should be grateful for the opportunity to spend time with ourselves. After all, if you don’t know how you feel or think or what you want, how can you expect to be happy? Quiet your mind and sit with yourself a little bit each day and you’ll find yourself experiencing a growing sense of calm. And while you’re at it, take some time to do things on your own on occasion as well. Whether it’s renting or going to a movie, going shopping or just sitting outside in the sun, enjoy your own company… you’ll have a lot more to offer when you’re in the company of someone else.
Girl time: while it’s easy for life to revolve around meeting a man, or a relationship with a man, girlfriends are truly people we can’t live without!
Think about some of the best times you’ve ever had with “just the girls” and you’ll probably find yourself in mini-hysterics. Whether it was your best friend’s antics on a college spring break trip, or the conversation at brunch last weekend, some of our most memorable moments are with the girls. Do you ever say thank you? We’re all grateful when we meet a great guy (or at least we should be), but very often we forget to appreciate the women who populate our lives in times of singlehood and when we’re involved. Make time for your girlfriends one day soon - and let them know how glad you are to have them in your life!
Men: they may drive us crazy with or without them, but at the end of the day, we’re glad they’re around! Whether you’re looking for one, struggling with one, happily single or happily involved, we have to take the time to appreciate the wonder that is the opposite sex. They may think and act different than us a lot of the time, but whether we see it or not, they do feel, and they do want to give love and be loved. So rather than get annoyed the next time your guy (or guy friend) says something you find ridiculous, or chooses a football game over a cocktail party (or vice versa depending on your tastes!), take a second and be grateful for differences. Without them, life would be kind of boring!
The bad times: while they’re not fun when they’re happening, without them, the good times wouldn’t seem so good. Okay, so you’re skeptical. After all, a positive spin can be put on anything. But one of the biggest lessons we learn as we get older, is that life is full of ups and downs - and the downs are usually where we make the decisions that shape our lives. If you’d never had your heart broken (on a big or small scale), how would you learn to handle someone else’s with care? If you never put in the effort to make a struggling relationship work rather than just giving up, how would you and your mate get any closer? Bad times bring people together… and they allow us to experience joy when things take a turn for the positive. So be grateful for your lessons and know that while they’re hard to learn, bad times are the stuff from which you learn to create abundance - in life and in love!