Jumpin' the Gun

We all know Thanksgiving is next week, and the blogosphere will be filled with posts about being thankful, personal lists of what people are thankful for, Thanksgiving memories, and even a few Thanksgiving dinner favorite recipes. But a series of events that I have been reading, hearing, and experiencing is causing me to get my 'thankful' thoughts down early. So I'm jumpin' the gun.

Actually, the word "thankful" this time of year is way overused. It has become a cliche for most. It's use doesn't even cause most of us to stop and ponder the real meaning. It's like saying you feel 'fine' when someone asks how you're doing. You reply with the pat answer without even a second thought.

So I'm taking 'thankful' to the next level - Gratitude.

(the symbol for gratitude)

Gratitude can be defined several ways, but I especially like this one:

"Kindness awakened by a favor received"

I like this definition because gratitude calls for action. Thankfulness tends to be static, whereas gratitude tends to be dynamic. It assumes that there is more to come...that this is not the end.

Gratitude is the attitude of thankfulness. It's not just being thankful, but all the motivation behind it as well. Gratitude is the emotional connection to being thankful. And don't forget perspective. A couple weeks ago, I had a friend go into surgery to have a brain tumor removed...for the second time. About a week before he entered the hospital, he was explaining to me that since most brain tumors are malignant, the neurologists offices are located in the cancer ward of the hospital. His tumor is benign, and despite the risks of surgery and the fear and uncertainty of the outcome, he had such an attitude of thankfulness that he was far better off than most in the waiting room. That's gratitude!

I recently heard someone define gratitude as being thankful for those wonderful things in our lives that we didn't ask for...like the smell and sound of the ocean, the kindness of a stranger, that last breath you took.