Community & Giving Thanks

After taking a long time off (long time) from the blog, I have decided to return with a little insight on giving thanks and community. Around the holidays we often think how we are thankful or grateful for our friends and family...because we are. Community is such an important facet of being truly happy, and I am always feeling so #blessed (haha, jk), but really grateful, for my dearest community. I am often so overtaken with my love for my family and friends that I forget that I am part of the community, too. 

We live in a culture where it is socially frowned upon to say something like, "I am grateful for my body" or "I am grateful for my ability to _____" because it sounds arrogant or self-involved. I guess my reason for writing this short little blog post is to say that it's not arrogant or self-involved. It is loving yourself. There is a big difference between loving yourself/having confidence and trust in yourself and being self-absorbed.  "They" always say you can't love someone else until you love yourself fully, and I think it is the same for gratitude (they both come from the heart). 

I recently listened to a Ted Talk about gratitude with David Steindl-Rast, and it went into detail about living a life full of gratitude and love. Taking every moment as an opportunity to be grateful--to fill your being with love and gratitude (for yourself and then for everyone and everything else around you). You constantly give love and gratitude to your community, but you are part of that community. You want your sister to love herself as much as you love her and vice versa..so start doing it! 

Tomorrow, when you are going around the table to say what you are thankful for, don't forget about yourself--there are a million and one things to be grateful in this world or even at your dinner table alone, but it starts with you. You are awesome and you are the perfect version of  you (inside and out), and that is definitely something worth being thankful for. 

November 26, 2014