Thanksgiving’s main function is to make us more aware. Sure, turkey, stuffing and pecan pie rule the day, but slowing down to be present, even if only for 24 hours, is equally as palatable and has a longer lasting effect. I sometimes wonder if extending our presence and gratitude beyond that single day is the true holy grail.

Particularly around this time of year, I gaze out the open windows in my bedroom and wonder how I got so lucky. I see stars, I hear ocean, I feel wind. I’m thankful. I don’t need more, I don’t need different and that feels good.

Collectively, we spend eons seeking to change our physiques, our positions at work, our lifestyles. Around the holidays, perhaps we can challenge ourselves to want what we have. From Henry David Thoreau:

I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual. It is surprising how contented one can be with nothing definite – only a sense of existence. Well, anything for variety. I am ready to try this for the next ten thousand years, and exhaust it. How sweet to think of! my extremities well charred, and my intellectual part too, so that there is no danger of worm or rot for a long while. My breath is sweet to me. O how I laugh when I think of my vague indefinite riches. No run on my bank can drain it, for my wealth is not possession but enjoyment.

The idea that Thanksgiving can be perpetual, as Thoreau illuminates, isn’t unique. In fact, it’s a concept oft tossed around. Ideas are a dime a dozen. Action, or implementation of those ideas, may be the separator between fulfilled and dissatisfied people. Take a single step. From tinybuddha.com:

Gratitude is a way of reaching back to your natural state of happiness. Notice what’s right instead of what’s wrong, and begin to see every “problem” as an opportunity for growth and development.

This is no easy task. Most things in life netting huge rewards arrive with effort. If the outcome is a greater level of contentment, seeking out the positives in our daily existence is a worthwhile time spend. It’s about habit development. Changing the way we think takes time and a plan. From 99u.com:

The answer is to create what I call “micro quotas” and ”macro goals.” Your goals should be the big picture items that you wish to someday accomplish, but your quotas, are the minimum amounts of work that you must get done every single day to make the bigger goal a reality. Quotas make each day approachable, and your goals become achievable because of this.

This may be a difficult task, but it isn’t a complex one. Breaking it down couldn’t be simpler.

1. I will live Thanksgiving every day (macro)
2. I will show outward gratitude and consciously be present for a meal every single day (micro)

This is a pretty good time to be human being, folks. Let’s enjoy it…perpetually.

Kap