The holiday season for America is in full swing this month with the observance of Thanksgiving today. I’m not into celebrating holidays, but I cannot deny that gratitude is the best attitude one can have. Gratitude and giving should be a daily regime beyond this one day.
By the end of the day, most will be full of food, laid out on the couch, and flipping between football games. Others will go back for seconds and thirds while others will enjoy the company of relatives they may not have seen all year. The children will sneak cookies from the oven when grandmother isn’t watching. I was once one of those children. (smile)
I think gratitude first starts with giving praise to Allah (God), because He is the ultimate source of everything we have. He is worthy of gratitude not only today but every day, every moment, and every millisecond.
Pause for a moment. Just consider your health, family, wealth, friendships, job, opportunities, talents, successful business ventures, travels, and even the air you’re breathing. Apart from God, we would have nothing.
Your CPA would be up forever trying to count all of your blessings.
In the Holy Qur’an, Surah 31, it reads “And if the trees in the earth were pens, and the sea with seven more seas added to it (were ink), the words of Allah would not be exhausted.”
We have so much to be grateful for that we should rise every morning with a vibrant smile on our faces. Our blessings are unceasing. If one is not thankful for what they have, it may be a sign that they won’t be grateful for what they get. If you’re not thankful over little, do you honestly think you would be thankful over much? Grieve not over what you don’t have, rather reroute that energy towards being thankful for what you do have.
There’s even a blessing in the trials and tribulations, because we’re being prepared for something greater. Be grateful for the hard times too. Gratitude is an elevating attitude that can mount us with wings to soar over the seemingly hopeless moments. Have the ability to recognize the ‘fortune’ found in every mis-fortune.
How do we truly measure our thanksgiving? I believe it is not what we verbally speak about our blessings, but it is how we use them. That is the true measure of our thanksgiving.
God blesses us so we can be a blessing to someone else. If you have a successful marriage, help a couple that is struggling. If you have wealth, show someone how to attain it. If you have great health, help someone become healthier. If you have food on your table, feed the hungry. If you have a business, give someone a job. If you know how “to fish”, teach someone how “to fish” for themselves and become self-sufficient. If you’re blessed to display many talents, help someone cultivate theirs. Even if you only have a smile, give that to someone who needs it.
It has been said that a meaningful life is one that touches and enhances the lives of others.
Be grateful. Be thankful. Be a blessing.
(You’re welcome to follow Brother Jesse Muhammad on Twitter @BrotherJesse, friend him on Facebook , visit his award-winning blog Brother Jesse Blog and visit his new website The Brother Jesse Experience)
