This time of year we begin to see a lot of houses putting up Christmas lights. Stores are stocked with holiday gifts and ready to begin the push to Christmas.
Sometimes I feel an equally important holiday gets lost in the process of the pre-Christmas hustle and bustle. It is too early for me to start that final push to the holidays and the end of the year. It can be easy to get caught up in the spirit of Christmas and change our focus on all the advertising of things we need to buy to have a good Christmas. The latest and greatest new toy or item seems to make or break our holiday experience – especially as a kid.
I love Thanksgiving and what it represents. I don’t want or like to dismiss it so easily. I love spending time with family, catching up with them and eating good food. This is a great time of year to reflect and be a little more aware of all the blessings I/we have. This is a real gift–and can even become a skill. Exercising the ability to truly be happy for the things that we have – good friends, family, our home, our job, our health, chances for education, warmth, a car or whatever. This can be amazingly difficult to do at times.
How many times have I heard the phrase, “first world problems?” It’s all relative. Not to jump on another soapbox but comparisons are really dangerous. The insatiable desire to always have more is a hole that can never be filled–there is always something bigger, newer, and better–we will never win that game.
This time of year is a fantastic time to slow things down a bit and truly focus on the blessings we have. What we are grateful for. I have found that if we will write them down it will help us to really think about all the things, we are blessed with which in turn will help us to be grateful. In fact, if you’re reading this, I challenge you to do that. Take a moment and write down on paper some of the things in your life you’re grateful for. I promise you, you won’t regret it.
In fact, if I think about it, I should look at all the early Christmas lights and be grateful for what Christmas brings.
But before that, from all of us at YES to you, happy Thanksgiving!
Kerry Westenskow
EVP
Your Employment Solutions
