Find the time to sit on your patio bundled up with a cup of hot tea. Your challenge is to be present, letting all your senses be part of your moment.
The perspective we take into this season of Thanksgiving, the lens we look through, and what we choose to focus on is important. What if our foundation for Thanksgiving was the foundation on which we built our lives? For me, my foundation is built on four things: faith, family, gratitude, and growth. First, I thank God, as He is my reason. Second is my family. Some are family by law, and some are family by choice. They are my why, my teachers, and my happy place.
Next is gratitude – gratitude for knowing how blessed I am. The science behind giving, receiving, and witnessing gratitude is documented in a landmark study by psychologist Robert A. Emmons, where his findings show that gratitude improves psychological well-being. Other studies show how living a life of gratitude benefits our physical health. “Gratitude heals, energizes and changes lives,” Dr. Emmons said. “It is the prism through which we view life in terms of gifts, givers, goodness and grace.”
Finally, my foundation is built on the opportunity for growth – to grow into the person I want to be, watch my children grow, and be part of a growing business that literally grows good. Personal growth is a process of self-improvement, self-awareness, and becoming the you that your younger self would be proud of.
Your foundation may shift every day, every week, every moment, and every year, but when it is solid from the start you are better prepared to face life’s challenges. So, this begs the question, how do you build, repair, or safeguard your foundation?
It takes moments where you can focus on your personal well-being. It takes an investment in time. In today’s fast-paced and technology-driven world, the idea of being still and present in the moment can be challenging and, for some, feel selfish. I promise you it is not.
Hence, put on the kettle, brew a cup of tea, and think about what makes up your foundation. I hope you take the feelings that are ever present around Thanksgiving into every day of the year.
Happy Thanksgiving! Until next time, I will be in the garden with a warm cup of tea.
– Donna Letier, CEO Gardenuity