Thanksgiving killer: Reflecting on yourself

If I had to pick just one holiday, Thanksgiving is probably my favorite. As you know, I’m not one to push my opinions on other people, but I think every country in the world should have some version of Thanksgiving. :)

(Photo: tuchodi)

I love that there’s not a lot of pressure around this holiday. It’s just about getting together with family and friends, eating, talking, and enjoying the abundance of life. I like that.

Here in Louisville, I’m usually invovled in three separate get-togethers: one with one side of my family, one with the other side of my family, and then one with my church.

Well, I’m through the first third of those celebrations, and I’m still not really feeling the Thanksgiving spirit. I feel sort of blah… know what I mean?

I’m a fairly reflective person. I like to think about what I’m thinking about. So naturally, that’s what I did. I wanted to know why I was kind of down, especially this time of year when I’m usually up.

And – surprise, surprise – that actually made me feel worse. Aaaah, not cool.

What I (re)discovered about reflecting on myself

I was channeling everything inward. And that never helps.

Remember when I talked about selfishness vs. self-centeredness? Self-centeredness is all about ignoring others, right? That’s what I was doing, and it’s wrong.

So, I decided to switch things up. Instead of a list of reasons I’m thankful, I started a list of reasons other people can be thankful, a list of reasons I’m thankful for things they have.

That’s all I’m going to say about the project now. You’ll hear more about it soon. Point is, it’s amazing. So…

Some rapid-fire, unsolicited advice

  • Don’t search within yourself to find things you’re grateful for. Instead, look around.
  • Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. Instead, help good things happen to other people.
  • Don’t look for achievements so much as for satisfaction.
  • Don’t strive for greatness but for leastness.

Because when you search for something within yourself, you’ll won’t find anything. But when you empty yourself, you’ll find everything.

“He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” -Matthew 10:39

Thanksgiving is found in others, not yourself.

Serving Suggestions:

(1) Of course, you know my suggestion, right? Start a list of reasons other people can be thankful.

(2) With your list, be specific. Include, “Johnny was able to get the cast off his arm,” instead of, “People in the world have arms they can use.”