On Being Thankful

I have a confession to make: I have traditionally been a rather thankless person.  Focusing on what I don’t have and looking on the dark side of things are what I’ve always focused on in life.  Or, rather, that used to be the case.  In the past few years, I have learned how to combat that negative tendency in my life.  And it has made a great difference for me.  It took me a very long time to realize it, but life really is all about your attitude.  And I am extremely thankful that I finally did realize that.

In the last few minutes of Thanksgiving 2011, I want to take a few moments to list some other things that I’m thankful for.  I’m not going to list the obvious things, such as health and friends and family and all that jazz.  It goes without saying that I’m thankful for those things.  These are a few things that might not be as obvious.

• Writing.  I’m thankful that I have started writing again.  I am especially thankful that I am having patience with myself in developing my writing.  I know that it’s going to take time and I’m ok with that.

• Personal growth.  I’m thankful for the personal growth that I’ve experienced in the last decade.  My 20′s really sucked.  I was unsure of myself in every way that a person could possibly be unsure of themselves.  Overcoming the constant, gnawing self-doubt that plagued me for all of my 20′s (and the first few years of my 30′s)  is one of the greatest accomplishments of my life.

• A place to live.  I’ve always had a place to live.  However, I’ve never really had a place of my own until this year.  Living on my own has been great.  Also, I once again live and work in the same city and that has made me ridiculously happy.  I was not meant to be a commuter.

• A job.  In these uncertain economic times, I always have to remind myself to be thankful that I have a job.  It’s something that I really take for granted, but I could be one of the unlucky unemployed.  Hell, I suppose that could still happen.  But, for the time being, I have a job and I am quite happy to have it.

And there you have it.  My short list of things that I’m thankful for.  I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving…you know, if that’s the kind of thing that you celebrate and all.