Every November 1st people, on various social media sites, begin a month-long daily posting of things for which they are grateful. I have never partaken, simply because I have never been one to follow a crowd. The more popular something is the less likely I am to participate or view or read or listen. Why? I honestly don't know. I just hate doing what everybody else is doing. For example, I haven't gone to see Hamilton, (although that one is mostly because it's too flipping expensive) and I never watched Downton Abby (or is it Abbey?) I also have not seen The Tiger King. I haven't participated in newly popularized escape rooms or fancy bullet journals, I also hate reality TV like Big Brother, or the Bachelor(ette), singing competition shows etc.. And I don't enjoy massages. Now IF it's something I am already doing & I love it then I keep going, I don't cut off my nose to spite my face. It's not because I don't recognize or admit how lucky & thankful I am, I just keep my gratitude journal to myself, mostly because it's what I am grateful for. Also because I feel that with all those posts coming out in the same month they all kind of end up being swallowed in the shower of gratitude post. Like just another voice screaming at a massive rock concert. Not that I don't appreciate reading my family & friend's gratitude posts. I do admit I tend to prefer the funny/sarcastic/ironic ones but they are all appreciated as are my family & friends.
This year was going to be no different. I was perfectly content to just skim the gratitude posts & move on with my day. Then the prophet spoke to us & asked us to help flood social media with our gratitude to help brighten the world's view amidst the pandemic & the vitriol in the US due to the politics of the day. This has had me pontificating quite a lot lately in my attempt to determine will I do as I was asked & join the crowd or will I continue to keep my gratitude to myself as per my usual? I really loved his message & the thought behind it but I was actually thinking of signing off of social media through the holidays. If you are asking, "why?" the answer is complicated. Mostly, it's because I don't want to see pictures of people getting together over the holidays while there is a global pandemic ripping its way across the country. I know it will only frustrate, anger, & sadden me too. And it will really disappoint me if/when my more conservative friends disregard all the medical advice. I don't want to lose my respect for them. And I know there will be people who refuse to believe the science or listen to the health officials begging us to cancel Thanksgiving plans. And honestly, I don't think I can continue to be so disappointed with my fellow man, any more than I can in my family/friends, as we head into not just the season of gratitude but of faith. I hope that makes sense.
I thought of a nice compromise though, at least to me it seems like a compromise. This blog constitutes a form of social media, it may not be as relevant today as it was in the early 2000s, nor as popular as FB, Twitter, &/or IG but it is still a form of social media. So I will list out the 30 days of things for which I am grateful here, I know the prophet asked for 7 days, but this way I am filling up the entire month of Thanksgiving. And then I will share the link to this blog on FB & IG with the accompanying hashtag #givethanks. From there, the few people who actually visit this blog will see it & if they want they can share it or not, totally their choice, I'll be honest though, I'm not expecting any 'shares'. Like I said, people, today, just aren't as into blogs as they were even 10 years ago. Then I promise to keep updating this blog with pictures of our holiday celebrations & stories & if you want to see how we are doing feel free to come back & check in on us from time to time. I will even enable comments on the next few posts so you can leave me messages here rather than on social media. You know because I am going on a social media fast, so to speak.
But first, please enjoy this hope-filled, inspirational message from President Nelson, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Whether you give thanks publicly or in private is up to you. Feel free to tell me in the comments below what you are thankful for this year. I would love to read them.
30 Days of Gratitude:
1.) I am grateful for our Heavenly Father. He sacrificed His only begotten Son to save us all.
2) I am grateful for the Savior. He suffered, bled, & died for all mankind so that we might be able to return unto our Heavenly Father.
3.) I am grateful for a beautiful planet on which to live. With majestic mountains, raging rivers, awe-inspiring oceans, and other beautiful landscapes to marvel & behold.
4.) I am grateful to live in a country full of freedoms. Freedom of religion, freedom to speak, to vote, to participate, to serve, to pursue happiness, in my own fashion.
5.) I am grateful for my parents, for teaching me right from wrong, to love the Lord with all my heart, for raising me into a strong, independent woman. For loving me, even at my lowest moments. For always standing with me & supporting me.
6.) I am grateful for my siblings for loving me, even though I tattled on them repeatedly. (I was the baby of the family, it was my duty to tattle) For all their hugs, their laughter, the memories & the acceptance.
7.) I am grateful for my amazing husband! He is a man among men for his strength, determination, work ethic, need to serve, sense of humor, his gentleness, his compassion, his respect, devotion, & love for the Lord.
8.) I am grateful for my 4 beautiful children. They have brought me great joy, humility, love, tears, laughter, & taught me both who I am & who I want to be.
9.) I am grateful for the friends who have been there with me through thick & thin. All those wonderful people who have stood up next to me in my literal & metaphorical battles. Who have served & prayed for me & for my family, who have loved me even when I was unlovable.
10.) I am grateful for a beautiful, comfortable, safe, warm, home. A home filled to the rafters with love & peace. A place I can go to for refuge & strength. A home filled with the love of my Savior.
11.) I am grateful to live out in the country. Away from the hustle, bustle, & noise of the big city. I am surrounded by fields & barns & silos, flora & fauna. The air is fresh, the skies are clear & I am truly living in the land of plenty.
12.) I am grateful for all 4 seasons. For without the seasons that seem to drag on I could not appreciate the ones that pass as quickly as a summer rainstorm. I enjoy seeing the changes that take place on the earth as she wakes, shines, lays down & finally rests.
13.) I am grateful for the many women who came before me, blazing a trail that my daughter & I can navigate much more easily than they. If not for their sacrifice I might never have been given a voice to vote, to change the world we live in for the better. Those suffragettes were & are & always will be my heroes.
14.) I am grateful for the men & women who have sacrificed their lives for my freedoms. For those families left behind after the devastation that war wreaks upon the citizens of the earth.
15.) I am grateful for my faith in God for it has carried me through many trials.
16.) I am grateful for my trials for they have made me the woman, wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend, human being that I am. I am not perfect in any way shape or form, but I am definitely brought closer & closer through each trial I overcome. Like the rock being tossed & tumbled through the water in the river. My edges smooth with each trial & one day I will be able to stand before God & say, "I learned & I grew & I didn't give up because I knew I wanted to be worthy to come home to You."
17.) I am grateful for books, they have given me many a peace-filled pass from the trials that overwhelm me. They have distracted me just the right amount & restored my strength & stamina to go on. They also gave me introductions into wonderful worlds filled with enchanting & mesmerizing characters of all kinds & they taught me acceptance, kindness, love, humor, joy, patience, & so many other lessons.
18.) I am grateful for music. All kinds of music. Music that lifts my soul, that makes me dance, that makes me want to belt out the lyrics alongside the artist, that helps me cry, that cleanses my spirit.
19.) I am grateful for the memories I have created over the years. I cannot take my earthly treasures with me to the next life but I can take my memories.
20.) I am grateful for knowledge. For the many lessons nay truths, I have learned, from teachers, books, school, life, family, friends, compatriots & yes, even those I did not get along with as well. Like my memories, I can take the things I learned with me to the next life as well. And they have also helped to mold me into who I am today. And imperfect being hopefully still on the path of learning & humbling myself before the Lord & my fellow humans.
21.) I am grateful for my body. It has carried me to & over many destinations, created life, sustenance, & comfort to those who mourn.
22.) I am grateful for my sense of humor, twisted though it may be. It has taught me not to take myself or life too seriously & that laughter is the best medicine to heal the soul.
23.) I am grateful for sarcasm. While it has gotten me into trouble from time to time it has also helped deliver me from insanity on occasion.
24.) I am grateful for the calm before the storm, it allows me time to gather my strength to see me through the storm.
25.) I am grateful for the word of God. The knowledge of good & evil found within its pages has taught me what true faith is & in whom to put my faith & trust & how to fight against the darkness that pervades the earth.
26.) I am grateful for modern medicine. For the vaccines, Drs, scientists, researchers, nurses, EMTs therapists, & hospitals. Without them, we wouldn't all have made it thus far.
27.) I am grateful for the working man & woman who serve on the front lines during the pandemic, from grocery store workers, to teachers, to daycare centers, to truck drivers, & delivery personnel. My family will make it through all of this because of you directly. I am forever in your debt. Thank you for serving through fear, anger, frustration, & lack of appreciation. You are noticed, appreciated, loved, & prayed for daily. I hope you can feel the love of a grateful nation holding you up on those days you most want to give up.
28.) I am grateful for my hobbies. They provide a great distraction from the mundane, isolation, depression, & anxiety.
29.) I am grateful for the internet, which has allowed me to order a great many things to keep us going for the last 9 months. Whether it is the groceries that feed us or the items we've needed to fix up our home, &/or the books, movies, games, to entertain us or the clothes we ordered because our youngest just refuses to stop growing so tall.
and last but definitely not least...
30.) I am grateful that I have so very many things for which to be grateful. It means I have a vast appreciation & respect for all that I been given. And as the song goes, "I have been given much."
I am wishing you all the very happiest & most peace-filled Thanksgiving. May you all find a way to be with your families in the safest way possible for you & yours. I will pray for your health & safety in all things & I pray you know you are loved beyond measure & you are never alone. Please feel free to join in with me & many others as we #givethanks this year. Help us spread the message of hope, forgiveness, kindness, honesty, civility, & patience.
Love, Jess
P.S.
Don't forget I'm taking a break from the popular forms of social media, I'll be back on social media (maybe) after the holidays. The comments are & will be open, please feel free to tell me for what you are grateful. Any negative or disparaging comments will be deleted.
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