{"id":1074,"date":"2021-11-19T15:59:41","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T20:59:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/?p=1074"},"modified":"2021-11-19T15:59:41","modified_gmt":"2021-11-19T20:59:41","slug":"5-ways-to-deepen-and-spread-gratitude-this-thanksgiving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/2021\/11\/5-ways-to-deepen-and-spread-gratitude-this-thanksgiving.html","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Deepen and Spread Gratitude this Thanksgiving"},"content":{"rendered":"

Having arrived in the US 13 years ago from Mexico, the all-American holiday of Thanksgiving\u2014 is still a relatively new tradition for me.\u00a0 And yet, it has become one of my absolute favorites.<\/span>Although in recent years Americans have been divided over how best to honor and portray the holiday\u2019s controversial origins, I believe we must all remember that it brings us something far more meaningful than history: that is, an opportunity to pause and reflect upon the things we are grateful for, and on gratitude itself.<\/p>\n

This is a rare and beautiful tradition. There are so few other times in life set aside specifically for celebrating gratitude and inviting us to reflect upon and embrace it.\u00a0 My wish for the world as we approach Thanksgiving this year is that we all lean on this occasion to tap into, and sit with, sentiments of gratitude.\u00a0 I invite everyone to consider the following possibilities for helping gratitude deepen and spread:<\/p>\n

Create a global holiday in the spirit of Thanksgiving. <\/strong>\u00a0Why not set aside a day or a week when communities around the world can pause and reflect on the things we are grateful for?\u00a0 The US is just the beginning\u2026 \u201cA thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue but the parent of all the other virtues.\u201d -Cicero<\/p>\n

Reframe Thanksgiving as a message of peace and new beginnings. <\/strong>Yes, the holiday\u2019s origins were far from peaceful.\u00a0 But let\u2019s amplify the positive that has come from the Thanksgiving tradition.\u00a0 With families across the country convening in gratitude, it can become a time for saying, \u201cLet\u2019s put our differences behind us, put our inner struggles in healing mode and walk together in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Use the opportunity to reflect on paths to self-improvement. <\/strong>\u00a0In the spirit of new beginnings, Thanksgiving is a perfect time to take stock of our strengths and weaknesses over the year that has passed, to choose areas to improve upon and to ask ourselves how we want the next chapter of our lives to look in the year ahead.<\/p>\n

Include an element of giving.<\/strong>\u00a0 After all, the word Thanksgiving includes both \u201cthanks,\u201d and \u201cgiving.\u201d Giving thanks is one thing.\u00a0 Giving love, support, and help to those in need elevates the spirit of the day to a whole new level.\u00a0 He who gives receives. An ungrateful heart lacks the capacity to truly give.<\/p>\n

Embrace the light by seeing it, giving it and being it. <\/strong>Thanksgiving is the beginning of the season of light when people all over the world, of all religious persuasions, mark holidays with light-filled festivities.\u00a0 But the light is about so much more than decoration: it is about seeing light, being light, and giving light.\u00a0 It\u2019s about living in the present moment, being mindful of both the joy and the suffering all around us.<\/p>\n

Tune Into your body and spirit<\/strong>\u2014and those of the ones you love. Lend an ear, a heart or a helping hand where one is needed.<\/p>\n

What are your wishes for the world this Thanksgiving?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Having arrived in the US 13 years ago from Mexico, the all-American holiday of Thanksgiving\u2014 is still a relatively new tradition for me.\u00a0 And yet, it has become one of my absolute favorites.Although in recent years Americans have been divided over how best to honor and portray the holiday\u2019s controversial origins, I believe we must…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":645,"featured_media":1077,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n5 Ways to Deepen and Spread Gratitude this Thanksgiving<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Create a global holiday in the spirit of Thanksgiving. Reframe Thanksgiving as a message of peace and new beginnings. Use the opportunity to reflect on paths to self-improvement. Include an element of giving\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Ways to Deepen and Spread Gratitude this Thanksgiving\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Create a global holiday in the spirit of Thanksgiving. Reframe Thanksgiving as a message of peace and new beginnings. Use the opportunity to reflect on paths to self-improvement. Include an element of giving\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/2021\/11\/5-ways-to-deepen-and-spread-gratitude-this-thanksgiving.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Daily Cup of Wellness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-19T20:59:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/410\/2021\/11\/pexels-karolina-grabowska-5718027.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Briana Brockbank\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"5 Ways to Deepen and Spread Gratitude this Thanksgiving","description":"Create a global holiday in the spirit of Thanksgiving. Reframe Thanksgiving as a message of peace and new beginnings. Use the opportunity to reflect on paths to self-improvement. Include an element of giving","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"5 Ways to Deepen and Spread Gratitude this Thanksgiving","og_description":"Create a global holiday in the spirit of Thanksgiving. Reframe Thanksgiving as a message of peace and new beginnings. Use the opportunity to reflect on paths to self-improvement. Include an element of giving","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/2021\/11\/5-ways-to-deepen-and-spread-gratitude-this-thanksgiving.html","og_site_name":"Daily Cup of Wellness","article_published_time":"2021-11-19T20:59:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":512,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/410\/2021\/11\/pexels-karolina-grabowska-5718027.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Briana Brockbank","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/2021\/11\/5-ways-to-deepen-and-spread-gratitude-this-thanksgiving.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/2021\/11\/5-ways-to-deepen-and-spread-gratitude-this-thanksgiving.html","name":"5 Ways to Deepen and Spread Gratitude this Thanksgiving","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/2021\/11\/5-ways-to-deepen-and-spread-gratitude-this-thanksgiving.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/2021\/11\/5-ways-to-deepen-and-spread-gratitude-this-thanksgiving.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/410\/2021\/11\/pexels-karolina-grabowska-5718027.jpg","datePublished":"2021-11-19T20:59:41+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-19T20:59:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/#\/schema\/person\/fd2f7fb02ba7ce3ca7147a0687ed94c0"},"description":"Create a global holiday in the spirit of Thanksgiving. Reframe Thanksgiving as a message of peace and new beginnings. Use the opportunity to reflect on paths to self-improvement. Include an element of giving","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/2021\/11\/5-ways-to-deepen-and-spread-gratitude-this-thanksgiving.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/2021\/11\/5-ways-to-deepen-and-spread-gratitude-this-thanksgiving.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/2021\/11\/5-ways-to-deepen-and-spread-gratitude-this-thanksgiving.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/410\/2021\/11\/pexels-karolina-grabowska-5718027.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/410\/2021\/11\/pexels-karolina-grabowska-5718027.jpg","width":768,"height":512,"caption":"Pexels.com"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/2021\/11\/5-ways-to-deepen-and-spread-gratitude-this-thanksgiving.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"5 Ways to Deepen and Spread Gratitude this Thanksgiving"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/","name":"Daily Cup of Wellness","description":"Healthy Living, Mental Health, Nutrition, Fitness, and More","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/#\/schema\/person\/fd2f7fb02ba7ce3ca7147a0687ed94c0","name":"Briana Brockbank","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/author\/bbrockbank"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/645"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1074"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1104,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1074\/revisions\/1104"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}