Thanksgiving Day Gratitude

Thanksgiving means different things to each of us, but one thing I think we can all agree on is the theme of gratitude. Teaching our children to be grateful for what they have is one of the most important lessons we can teach them as parents. We've all met people who have a chip on their shoulder and think people, or maybe society, "owes" them. Instead of learning to be grateful for what they do have, they ignore the good things and focus on what they think should be given to them. This results in a person who is unable to love or give of themselves. I'm always sad when I meet someone like this because I know they are missing the most important things in their life. Though we should practice gratitude year round, Thanksgiving is a perfect time for considering what we are grateful for, and sharing that with our family and friends.

I am grateful for my husband, my children and for the friendships I have made on the internet since writing for this blog, and getting to know so many wonderful writers. You all inspire me on a daily basis, and I am very thankful for each of you.

I'd like to share some quotes today that speak of gratitude.

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving. ~H.U. Westermayer

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Gratitude is the least of the virtues, but ingratitude is the worst of vices. ~Thomas Fuller

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. ~William Arthur Ward

I hope you all have a safe and lovely Thanksgiving full of love and laughter:)

~Brenda

Brenda Hyde has been a freelance writer of home and garden articles for over 20 years, and now she's also writing paranormal romance through short stories and novellas. You can find her at the Wayfaring Writer blog here: http://moonsanity.blogspot.com/ and the Old Fashioned Living blog (http://oldtips.blogspot.com/) where she writes twice a week.