Because it’s November, the month of Thanksgiving, we’re all a bit more tuned in to gratitude. 

Important reminders of keeping gratitude journals resurface. Some people send Thanksgiving cards to let others know how dear they are. At holiday dinners, everyone at the table names one thing they’re grateful for. Churches come together for community Thanksgiving celebrations. And it’s the kick-off for generous charitable giving opportunities. 

All these things are very good!

But I just can’t leave it at that. Because I long for my life to be a joy ride, I’m trying be a steady passenger in the vehicle of “radical gratitude.”

I recently read Pam Grout’s book, Thank & Grow Rich. It’s not about financial wealth, but rather about the richness of life we can build. She explains, “Choosing the joy and gratitude frequency generates a different kind of capital, one that feeds the soul, one that serves your real desires — to be of service, to be a channel for love, to create insanely beautiful things.”

That’s exactly what I want my life to be!

Every single encounter

Basically, it comes down to how we decide to view every single thing we encounter. We can watch the news and feel the negative effects, hunker down into “us-versus-them”mode. Or, we can consciously choose the other direction. Pam says this frequency is “the one that knows reality is never frightening, radios out love and trust in our fellow humans.”

She adds, “By believing in oneness, in joy, we can, together, literally rewrite the energy field of the planet.”

Oh, how those words help me soar!

Her book suggests a number of “games” to take gratitude to that higher plane. She suggests offering thanks for each and every thing that happens—the good as well as the not-so-good. Be like Prince Ea who admits, “I say thank you like a crazy person.” Say it, and mean it!

The idea is the more we acknowledge the abundance in our lives, the more abundance we create. It goes hand-in-hand with my belief that what we focus on grows. 

And so today I offer my heartfelt gratitude for a few of my recent experiences.

My gratitude

THANK YOU for the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen, a place where almost 350 people came for help the day I was there. Some came for the wonderful hot meal and the brown bag they could take to eat later. A number came to apply for a birth certificate or state ID. Others sought help paying their utility bills or for prescriptions. Some applied for bus passes.

No matter what their reasons were, they knew they had come to a safe place. Soup Kitchen guests know they will be treated with respect and kindness, their dignity will be preserved.

In particular, my thoughts focus on a young homeless couple with four small children. Despite their very dire situation, they experienced an outpouring of compassion from the staff. I saw efforts to assist, and I saw human connections made.

THANK YOU for the guest who returned after recovering from a stroke. Thanks for that crowded dining room that quieted and listened respectfully as she sang “Just a Closer Walk” a cappella, dedicating the song to one of the soup kitchen’s founders, 94-year-old “Miss Ellen.”

THANK YOU for the incredible staff of the soup kitchen, all volunteers working tirelessly to serve and to meet people where they are.

THANK YOU for letting me witness a guest-turned-volunteer who told “Miss Ellen” he’d always wanted to work for a matriarch and that he didn’t want her thanks. He wanted just one thing, and he announced he was just going to take it.

He immediately followed up by giving her a warm embrace.

THANK YOU for the other guests who also came up to get their hugs as they do every time we meet.

Thanks for all the noise and the chaos of that place.

All those wonderful opportunities for gratitude and even more in less than three hours—amazing!

My gratitude for you

In addition to the soup kitchen, this week I am especially thankful for the growth I’m experiencing through this blog. Our Facebook page recently reached 200 likes! I am grateful for every one of you who helped us reach that milestone.

Although I have no idea where this is headed, it has been a remarkable adventure!

As the path continues to unfold, I’m striving to remain grounded in thankfulness for all things. I’m setting an intention to choose gratitude over stress, worry, judgment, and other negative options that will not serve me well.

I’m committed to being joyful. Firmly believing extreme gratitude is the only way I can get there, I also commit to being grateful — grateful for whatever comes my way.