by Diane Quinn

Created on: November 22, 2009   Last Updated: November 24, 2009

Thanksgiving Day arrives every year, and for a very brief moment, America pauses to give thanks. Many religious folks offer up a ritual prayer before digging into their feast, thanking their God for family and the plentiful food steaming on the table before them. When one considers this minuscule moment in the context of a 365 day year, a case can be made that "the art of giving thanks" is going the same direction as last summer's tan.

Something important is getting lost in our busy lives that appear scripted from our favorite television sitcoms. Are we successful enough? Can we afford all the latest techno-crap touted as vital to our existence? Because we expect too much, and want too much, are we too quickly dismissing the art of giving thanks for what we do have?

Americans take so much for granted that being thankful for the good things that come to us doesn't always register as necessary. Think about this for a minute: do you know someone who has lost their job, or who has to delay retirement because of the real estate market crash? How about someone with health problems who cannot afford health insurance? On the surface you would think that these individuals do not have much to be thankful for. Yet, if we were to apply the art of giving thanks on a deeper level, they most certainly do.

Even when our circumstances appear the most alarming, the most frustrating, or the most challenging, there is always something positive lurking in the shadows that we either take for granted, or cannot see because we are blinded by our own fears. These are the times when, if we have mastered the art of giving thanks, it could pay big dividends with our blood pressure.

I am not advocating a Pollyanna attitude because I know today's serious problems require serious solutions. It just seems to me that finding solutions might be much easier on you, and the people around you, if you learned the art of giving thanks and practiced it. Doesn't that sound more positive than morphing into a walking stress robot that snaps at everyone, sees life as a cup half empty, and cannot sleep at night? I see no downside to acknowledging the many small circumstances of good fortune that most of us let slip away each day in the blink of a careless, self-absorbed eye.

The art of giving thanks can also be manifested in bigger, more meaningful ways than a meditative message sent to your spiritual higher being of choice. True thankfulness can turn into helpful service or other forms of activism.

How about people who choose teaching instead of seeking higher paying jobs in corporate America? Those wise and seasoned retirees who fill much need roles through volunteerism. They are mentors to "at risk" kids in schools, help their neighbors get to doctor appointments, or spend time working in food banks or homeless shelters. When people choose service to others, they become the living art of giving thanks.

I have lived long enough to know one thing for sure-it is the little things in life, the insignificant choices we make every day that can define us a human beings. When we master "the art of giving thanks," there is no need for one national Thanksgiving Day each year. Through our actions, we can celebrate being thankful every day.

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