Thankful

Thanksgiving came and went really fast this year didn't it?  I can't believe December is tomorrow.  Where did the summer go?  Thanksgiving is this time where we over eat, over drink, and generally live excessively.  As soon as the day has gone, preparations for the holidays begin.  The day after Thanksgiving I saw two cars with trees tied on top already and people have already started putting up Christmas lights.  What are we in a rush for?  I'm still trying to think about what I am thankful for.  

Let' see, this year I am thankful for:  a supportive family, a roof over my head, perspective, that despite the struggles I have been going through I know they are relatively small in the grander picture, that I have a job (that I like), I am thankful for time.  Time is always something I thought I didn't have enough of.  I rushed from one thing to the next, with the mantra in my subconscious go go go!  I liked the rushed feeling (I still do), but I am learning the importance of slowing down.  What am I rushing towards?  What are we all running around for?  We have commercials and the internet telling us to hurry up to get that present, to buy that food, to decorate our house quick or else....what?  We won't find happiness haha?

I will admit I love buying presents for others and I love walking around a mall around the holidays because there is this cheer of giving that you don't find on a regular basis.  I wish we had the mindset of going to do things for the sole purpose of making others happy and bringing more joy into their lives, but alas most of the time we're running around like chickens with our head's cut off.  Playing devil's advocate for a second though: one mustttt take care of themselves first before they can take care of anyone else.  Even the buddha taught that it is better to find inner enlightenment for yourself first before trying to teach anyone else how to find it.  We obtain wisdom and clarity by taking care of ourselves so that we can better understand other people's situations.  

So I guess the question I will leave you all with is how will you stay thankful throughout this entire holiday season?  And how will you try to incorporate slowing down in your every day life during a time when we are speeding up, yet biologically we're supposed to be slowing down and hibernating?