Being Thankful

Not being very good  at  following  through with resolutions, I tend to not make any.  Why set myself up to fail?  But, I am always looking for inspiration or goals on how to be a better person and improve my small little corner of the world.  Sometimes the inspiration strikes when least expected.  So I was hit by the arrows of inspiration while having lunch with a few business colleagues.  One friend mentioned that she was  resolving to send more thank you notes this year.  In the age of  email, here was someone making a personal commitment to the written note!  

This small mention sat on my heart.  When I was growing up, my mother insisted that my sister and I write thank you notes when anyone gave us something.  Birthday revelry was followed by the expected nagging to get the notes written and in the mail.  Although it was not at all something I remember fondly from growing up, it was something that I also taught to my children.  (I have noticed that they do write thank you notes on their own now).  But do I?  Do I still remember to let people know when they touch my life?  Do I remember to thank people for all the large and small gifts?  I realized that the answer was not always affirmative.  

So my inspiration for 2012 is to live a life of Thankfulness.  To be grateful and full of thanks when ever it is called for.  To be more aware of the nice things, the gifts that others do for me.  

Webster defines Thankfulness as being  "conscious of benefit received ".

Being grateful means being aware of the wonderful gifts we receive every day.  This is one commitment I really hope I can live up to.  I will  write more thank you notes, but more importantly, I will strive to be more aware of the gifts around me.  To acknowledge the angels that God has set down on Earth for me.  To live a life of gratefulness.