Thanksgiving a Little Late

I haven't written anything in a while. I guess I haven't felt the inspiration to write.

I have been battling with dark thoughts lately. It just seems like everything is dark around me. This time of year is beautiful with the fall colors but the leaves are quickly dropping away and the stark limbs are a dreary reminder that winter is coming. And for those of you who didn't know, during the fall and winter in the Northeast, it gets dark here by 4:30~!!! It's almost too much darkness! And I'm finding it very depressing. It just adds to the feeling of being blue (or maybe it's even causing it!)

I have to keep reminding myself that so many factors could be causing the sadness I feel lately. It could be the lack of daylight and my hormones going crazy and who knows what else that is effecting my mood. It is such an effort to not wallow in these dark moods.

I saw this show recently where a blind woman was talking about how important it is to monitor our self talk. She says we are rarely aware of what we're saying to ourselves and that we should tune in. She said that most of us are playing some very destructive tapes in our heads. Most of the messages are negative and critical and were usually recorded when we were young. We just heard the words so much that they have become the norm to us and now it's the message we continue to listen to. It's like our minds have been programed to self destruct on their own!

And if you haven't read the book, Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer, I would recommend it heartily! In it, she describes how most of our problems originate in the mind. That's where the battle is fought and won (or lost).

Well, there is a battle raging in my head right now, that's for sure. I can almost feel my thoughts getting their "heads" blown off as I struggle to write this blog.


I have to take hold of my thoughts and command them to go in a different direction. I have to give them new orders because I can't just let them do what they want. Otherwise I'm going to lose this battle!

I think my thoughts will need to be reprogrammed. I need to feed my thoughts with positive seeds so good thoughts will be produced. I need to pull these negative, gloomy thoughts out of my mind by the root! And I need to focus on the good things in my life and be thankful instead of focusing on what I don't have. Of course it sounds good on paper but can I make it happen?

"Being thankful is what you do, when you're feeling a little blue."


OK then, let me try to be thankful even though it's about the last thing I want to do right now.

(Ten minute break)
I took a break and wrote down the things I am thankful for and it was a nice exercise. What surprised me about it was the order in which I randomly wrote things down. I started with my health which is certainly important but then I realized I wrote my faith down on number 7 and my family after that! The ones before were other physical things I was thankful for and I even put my job at number 6 and I don't really like my job that much! I am thankful to have it because it brings in a little extra cash but i don't enjoy the job of being a substitute teacher!

That made me realize that I'm often not aware of what I'm really thankful for. I kind of haphazardly go my way each day oblivious to the blessings that surround me. It made me want to make more of an effort to be aware of, and to be thankful for, my many blessings~~~

These are just some of the thoughts that went through my head today after doing this very painless exercise. It was easy and it made me think about my life and what's good about it --which is always a positive step!

So I just wanted to encourage you to do a "Thankful List" too even though Thanksgiving is over. It might give you a better perspective on your life.
You could ask yourself things like:

Do you think about your blessings each day?

If you do, how do you show your appreciation?

Do you thank God for these blessings?

Or do you just attribute them to luck?

What are you most grateful for?

How can you live a more contented, grateful life?

I am going to try and be thankful for the rest of this day. I'm not going to look at the dark things for now. I'm going to try and focus on what I consider blessings.

And I don't think it would hurt any of us to make Thanksgiving a way of life and not just something we celebrate once a year.

"To be thankful is to be truly alive!"

I'm feeling better already! Thanks for listening :)

Comments: carolrtexas2@aol.com

PS
By the way, I'm very thankful for each of you!