How To Say Thank You

As we come to Thanksgiving next Thursday, we obviously have something to be very grateful for this year: the overcoming of racial prejudice. The repercussions of the election will continue for a very long time as people everywhere are liberated from being seen as second-class citizens.

Deb grew up in England and so she did not encounter Thanksgiving until she moved to the US in her twenties. Not knowing its history, she simply saw it as a wonderful opportunity to remember appreciation and gratitude for all the things that she normally took for granted. Can you find things in your own life to give thanks for?

For instance, take a moment right now to appreciate the chair you are sitting on as you read this. Just consider what went into the making of this chair: the wood, cotton, wool or other fibers, the trees and plants that were made into these materials, the earth that grew the trees, the rain and sun, the animals that were involved, the people who prepared the materials, the factory where the chair was made, the designer and carpenter and seamstress, the shop where you bought it--all this just so you could be sitting here now. You can then consider the building you are in and all the elements involved in creating it, or the clothes you are wearing and what went into their making.

Or think of your body and all the different organs and functions and systems that sustain your life, such as your heart, your digestion, or your immune system that protects you from illness. Or the food that nourishes you and where it came from and all the people and plants and weather and transport that were needed to get that food on your table. It's so huge, there is no beginning place. There is just an endless stream of connectedness that has come together to enable you to be here right now, in this moment, reading this, sitting on your chair. And you still don't think you have anything to feel grateful for or worth appreciating?

We invite you to develop an ongoing relationship with gratitude by making a list of things to 'remember to appreciate.' You can do this hourly, daily, weekly, finding different things to appreciate each time. Anything can go on that list: pets, people, toenails, trees, weather...

Then say: "Thank you!" Say it out loud. And again. We can never have enough gratitude, let it fill every moment, every thought and every feeling. Experiencing gratitude is totally transforming.

Here are a few of the things we came up with that we often forget to appreciate:

Each other
Our breath
The washing machine
Being able to walk
Hot water
Grapefruit
Flannel sheets
Taste buds

What are yours?

***

Ed and Deb Shapiro are the creators of Chillout daily text messages on Sprint cell phones, corporate consultants, and meditation teachers. Deb is the author of the award winning book Your Body Speaks Your Mind. See their website: www.EdandDebShapiro.com.

Comments

[AnthonyTaylor]

Hi Deb and Ed - thanksgiving, eh, what a wonderful idea - so thank you for reminding me of just how much I have to be grateful for... for if I just for a moment contemplate the rain on the window, the pineapple in the fruit-bowl, my son playing next to me, that later I will sleep, and then wake, and then sleep some more - well, just to begin to contemplate how rich my life is in all these simple everyday things - well, it changes me! I warm to myself and I warm to others. My frustration with the mess we're all in fades and I look around to see what I can do to help. And with that I like myself and my neighbours a little bit more, and today that's all it takes to take me out of myself and into the world. I am truly grateful. So thanks. - Anthony

[AndiG]

"THANK YOU...THANK YOU... THANK YOU.....While reading your blog I suddenly began realizing the incredible amounts of everyday life that I'm eternally grateful for... I became filled to the brim with so much gratitude that it just came bursting out and is overflowing at this very moment!

[Ed and Deb Shapiro - Huffpost Blogger]

AndiG what a wonderful image.

Life is rich, each day flowers are bursting out. Life is in constant change and amazement. As we speak our planet earth is in orbit. We are in space. When Deb and I interviewed astronaut Edgar Mitchell for our book, he told us what it was like walking on the moon. He said how space from the moon was so bright and different from earth.

Life is a treasure. We are lucky to be part of it. Ed

[soundheals]

You have writte about compassion. Now, you write about giving thanks. This is so interesting because it's been found that for many people, they have difficulty being able to feel compassion. Perhaps this is because they have so many emotional wounds received in childhood that feeling the energy of compassion is simply something that is beyond them. What's been found, however, is that people are able to feel the energy of appreciation and are able to give thanks for something. Thus, in meditation, when we want people to generate the most "loving kindness" they can in terms of feeling this in their heart, rather than asking them to feel compassion, we ask them to feel appreciation for something and it really seems to do the trick. That said, I give thanks for your extraordinary posts!

[Ed and Deb Shapiro - Huffpost Blogger]

Soundheals is like a mantra we all should repeat. Your message is healing. Keep sounding we all could benefit from the power of sound.

In Sound,

Ed

[livinlife]

Ommmmm

[Lizzypie]

So thankyou to you to for reminding us of the basics. I do give thanks everytime I take a nice hot shower, and also everytime I flush the loo. Keep up these nice reminders. THANKS

[Thisok]

Dearest Ed & Deb, Recently i remembered an expression that my mother used to say at times when 'odd' things would happen - "The Lord works in mysterious ways." So one thing that i am very thankful for is that the Lord/Universe acted when it did by causing the financial crisis to occur while Bush was still in office before the elections. If this had waited 6 months we would most likely have McCain and his side kick in office to solve a problem they admittedly knew nothing about resolving. I am very thankful that Obama took on the challenge and allowed the rest of us to rise above whatever biases we held. Is this an actual shift in consciousness? I am thankful for whatever it is as it is a very good start and reassurance that there are many that can accept others. I'm an American living in Asia and watch the international euphoria over this election and can say without a doubt that the rest of the world is even more thankful than those in the US for the outcome of this election. Thank you all for the outpouring of awareness and love. The best way to end this crisis is to not participate in it - at least not mentally. Have fun and enjoy what we have in this glorious earth that is ours to enjoy. All will be better because this happened - it is already started.

[Ed and Deb Shapiro - Huffpost Blogger]

Thisok you have a profound understanding of the situation in the US. It's great to have someone in Asia giving us a prospective of what it's like and to be grateful as we in the US feel. I would not want to imagine what the next 4 years would have been like if "that other one" and the lady from Alaska would have been running the show. It probably would have been America's true dark night of the soul.

Praise be OmBama.

With joy,

Ed

[Thisok]

Dear Ed & Deb, as you and many others are aware that 21 Dec 2012 is the end of the Mayan calendar - as well as those of some other ancient civilizations with forecasts stating that life will change as we know it. With this election we have the opportunity for life to change for the better. With the other unspeakable possibility it may very well have been the end (period).
With Love & Peace
Thisok

[lindseywolf]

This reminds me of when I had a blackberry at my last job. I would use it as my alarm in the morning and after it went off, immediately I'd start checking my email, all while still under the covers. The only way I broke this habit was in realizing that this was no way to start my day, and I started instead taking a moment to have some gratitude. I've lost the blackberry, but thankfully kept the habit of waking up in this way.

[Ed and Deb Shapiro - Huffpost Blogger]

Lindseywolf you may have lost your blackberry but you seem to have gained a sense of humour as well as the great gift of gratitude. keep smiling, Ed

[yoyo22]

Dear Ed and Deb you've done it again ,you are both wonderful Thank you for being you and for making me realize how very lucky I am. I see a lot of the comments you have received and every one feels the same wa how wonderful.

[Janice Taylor - Huffpost Blogger]

Oh goodness. And here is something I am REALLY THANKFUL for that some of you all can relate to. My hairdresser moved away a few years ago and I've finally found someone new who gets me and my hair!!!

You have no idea how thankful I am for that!

And for Fresh Direct. I'm going to order groceries for Thanksgiving without even going outside in this cold!

Ought oh ... you opened up the floodgates of Thankful!!!

[Janice Taylor - Huffpost Blogger]

Yes, Ed and Deb ...
... and am Boo Coo thankful for more things than this page can hold.

And in this moment, I am extremely thankful that my husband said all the right things to me, that enabled me to twist my head back on right and just plain be thankful.

I'm thankful for you.

[krcok]

Dear Ed and Deb, Thank you for reminding me to be thankful! There is ssooooo much to be grateful for in my life. Where to begin. Please keep reminding us of all the goodness in the world and how to achieve and appreciate it. Every post of yours opens me up to something I have know and forgotten, or never knew. Or perceive in a different light. Thank you, Thank you.

[ken108]

As Bernard Meltzer the well known 1970's NYC radio host of "What's Your Problem" said":

"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked."

Thanks for the friendship...

[Arithrianos]

I am thankful for all the thousands of microscopic sentient beings that coexist in symbiosis with me and allow me to digest, produce energy, make chemical changes, or whatever else thay do. Just rembering that there are legions of tiny beings that totally depend on me for their lives makes me smile when i forget how important i am. They also remind me that there are other beings to who i owe my life every moment when i get too proud. I am also grateful for the great fuel for progress along the path, suffering. i know i am a junkie, addicted to my own ego, and like any addict it takes hitting bottom before kicking the habit can begin. that's all i have time for now, but i could go on forever.

[Ed and Deb Shapiro - Huffpost Blogger]

Arithrianos this is truly beautiful. It is poetry! Ed

[drsmc41]

I am uable to walk, but I am thankful for being able to get around. I am, unfortunately, unemployed, but I am thankful for being "rich" in other ways. I am thankful for my family, even though I have not seen them in years. Although I may not have much, I am thankful for the food I have. Even though I might not have it for long, I am thankful for the roof over my head I currently have. I am thankful for all of the people I have met throughout my lifetime. I am thankful for being alive, for being able to type this, for being able to read your article, for being able to see, and for the positive and negative experiences that have shaped me. I am thankful for my heart beating, which means there's still possibility.

Of course, I am thankful to witness that many Americans have elected Sen. Obama to serve as our next President.

I am thankful for your article and this opportunity of expression, thank you!

[Ed and Deb Shapiro - Huffpost Blogger]

We are thankful to you as you make our hearts swell. We are thankful to you because my eyes are tearing. We are thankful to you for sharing your heart.

Treasure yourself,

Ed

[drsmc41]

Thank you both, and have a great Thanksgiving!

[Alex Pattakos - Huffpost Blogger]

Hello Deb and Ed,

Thank you for being "YOU!"

[Ed and Deb Shapiro - Huffpost Blogger]

Hey Alex,

You make me feel good. To know you is to love you. And that is happening through your blogs.

Joyfully,

Ed