Imagine with me for just a moment that you were a pilgrim back in the Spring of 1621.  It’s been a difficult Winter and over half of those you cross the ocean with have perished.  What started out as an exciting adventure toward freedom turned into a fight for survival.  You and this remaining decide to move ashore and hope to begin learning to make a life in this new land.  A Native American shows up one day and to your surprise, he speaks English!  Next thing you know he’s bringing friends to your new settlement who show you how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants.  Because of this kind assistance, you and your fellow Englishman SURVIVE.  By the Fall, you are better prepared to head into the second cold winter.

It’s easy to see why the original settlers at Plymouth were so grateful to the Native Americans.  Of course they wanted to express their gratitude!  The first Thanksgiving likely lacked the sweets and cakes that we now enjoy.  It reportedly lasted three days instead of one, and I have no idea what term the Native Americans used to refer to this special celebration.

What I do know, is that this special day set a precedence.  It was a chance for people to focus on the positive, to give back to those who had helped them and served as a bridge between two very different cultures.  History shows us that this kindness between the Native Americans and Europeans didn’t always continue, but it did exist in the early days of the Plymouth settlement.

What would our world look like if we took the lead of those early settlers and their Native American counterparts?  What if we too set aside differences, learned from one another and expressed our gratitude in generous, elaborate ways?

Focusing on Gratitude is Good For Everyone

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Someone recently said to me, “It felt so good to write down a few things I was grateful for!  They were small things, but it just felt good!”  Research confirms what this person experienced first hand.  Yes, thinking about what you are thankful for leaves you feeling happier. There are so many benefits to focusing on gratitude!  Thinking of things you are grateful for often leads to expressing that gratitude and treating others (even others who annoy you at times!) with more kindness.  That in turn leads to better relationships.

Use November to Improve Your Practice of Gratitude

Thinking of things we are thankful for is good for our mental health year-round.  However, I appreciate the unique opportunity that we have in November when there are little reminders of gratitude and thankfulness everywhere you look.  I’m particularly enjoying the t-shirts I’m seeing all over the place there a year with simple messages of gratitude and thankfulness!

I encourage you to use this Thanksgiving season to reap the benefits of focusing on gratitude.  In the next two weeks, I will be posting a blog about a different way to incorporate more gratitude into your life.  Keep an eye out to learn more about how to cultivate a feeling of Thankfulness in your own life!

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If You Are Struggling

If you are struggling to find a sense of Gratitude and feeling particularly depressed this holiday season, consider reaching out to Aspire Counseling.  You can call us at 573-328-2288 and we would love to talk about how counseling might help you find your sense of hope, purpose, and meaning again.

About The Author

Jessica is the founder of Aspire Counseling in Columbia, MO. She is an advocate of expressing gratitude and often talks about the concepts of thankfulness and gratitude in individual sessions with clients. Jessica specializes in treating people who feel stuck in the past and held back by the negative experiences they’ve endured. Jessica believes in the healing power of individual counseling and formed Aspire Counseling in May 2017. Aspire Counseling specializes in treating trauma, anxiety, grief and overwhelming stress through counseling for adults, college students & teenagers. If you live in the Columbia, MO area and would like to talk to someone about how counseling might help you move beyond surviving and toward thriving, please contact Aspire Counseling by e-mail or by calling 573-328-2288.  You don’t have to stay stuck.   Healing starts here.