Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!! This time of year absolutely warms my heart and brings me back to so many different times of my life and Thanksgivings of the past. Every year around Thanksgiving time, I find myself feeling grateful for certain pieces of my life including my health, my family, my friends, my job, and having a roof over my head and food to eat each day.
This year I decided to take a few major parts of my life that I am very thankful for (friends & family, my health, music, and home), and break them down into even smaller details of why I am thankful for each one. Some are small, day-to-day moments while others significant and monumental parts of my life. For example, under health I listed details that ranged from simply being able to walk and get around easily each day, to being able to run my first half marathon last year.
As I created my own “gratitude map”, which ended up looking like an oversized version of a graphic organizer that I once used in high school, all of these details began to grow and evolve. These details spread across my entire poster-sized paper, very similar to how the roots of a tree expand underground and go in may different directions.
Just as a tree’s roots lead back to the tree itself, anchoring it and making sure it develops and continues to grow, the elements in my life for which I am thankful keep me grounded and stable.
My roots have humbled me and have made me thankful for all of the things that bring my life zest and light. They have made me even more grateful for the people who have influenced and supported me along the way. My roots have also made me grateful for people who have created new pathways, perspectives and opportunities throughout my life. My roots have reminded me of the small simple joys of my everyday world.
I am a tree and my branches are constantly changing with each passing day. Some days my leaves are colorful and full of energy, and other days they are calm and undisturbed. There are days my branches might be bare and motionless and temporarily dormant. Other days they are budding with new ideas and creativity. I am thankful for all of these moments and seasons of my life, but most of all I am grateful for my roots that hold me up through it all!
The roots of my past, present and future keep me stable as they provide an anchor throughout all of my days. They restore me when I am feeling weak or uncertain, and they help me continue to grow and change throughout the seasons of my life. They are both constant and expandable as I grow and my life progresses from one day to the next. While they are hidden inside of me and might not always been seen, they twist and turn as they continue to spread and multiply.
I am thankful for my physical and mental health, and every single little thing that my body is able to do each day. I am thankful for my family and friends and what they each individually bring to my life. I am thankful for music and all of the experiences, feelings and moments it has given me. I am thankful for “home” which has taken on many forms throughout the years, each creating memories accompanied by life lessons within their walls.
Feeling thankful can be enlightening and inspiring when you take time to dig a little deeper and discover the pathways that bring you to the present moment. We are all thankfully rooted in ways that we have yet to dig up and discover. Our grateful hearts will only continue to grow with the twists and turns of the roots that make up our lives.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Wishing you zest and light,
Stephanie
Such lovely words and sentiment for the Thanksgiving holiday! I find it so difficult to remain mindful and especially thankful for my physical and mental health and can get distracted by so many other external factors. Thank you for reminding me to come back into the present and be grateful for these simple, smaller things in life! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Thanks so much, Nicole! I also struggle with being mindful of my mental and physical health, and all of the simple things that I can do each day. I am so happy that this post was a positive reminder; it was for me, too!! I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving and are enjoying your weekend! Thank you so much for reading!
This time of year always has me reflecting on everything I’m thankful for and there really is so much! And it is so true that the things your thankful for keep your grounded like roots in a tree, I love that. Hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving!
Thank you, Emily!! Yes, I love this time of year and taking the time to reflect on all I have to be thankful for, too =) It’s very special! I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving!! Thank you for stopping by Citrus & Sun!
I absolutely love this. Happy happy thanksgiving ❤️
Thank you, Catherine!!! I appreciate you reading my post! I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving!
This is a great analogy to illustrate how the things that we’re thankful for are what helps us to grow and be strong! Thanks for sharing this! 🙂
Thank you for your feedback, Christina! =)
Beautifully written thoughts. We don’t celebrate thanksgiving in Scandinavia (maybe we should!) but I like the idea of it very much. Hope you had an amazing and warm thanksgiving!
Jenni, thanks so much for reading!! Yes, maybe you can create your own version of Thanksgiving =) It is definitely special time of year to be thankful and show gratitude!! Thank you for stopping by Citrus & Sun!!
Happy Thanksgiving to you to. Once in a while it is good to think and look around yourself and then you realized how thankful you are for all those things. This is one of my favourite posts that I’ve read so far .
Wow, thank you so much, Marcella! I am so happy that you enjoyed my post =) Yes, I love taking the time every now and then just to reflect and recognize all that I have to be thankful for in this life! I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
Stephanie,
As I read your words once again I was impressed! Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect and give thanks for the things we do have.
We sometimes get wrapped up in the drama of our lives and forget to appreciate what we have. I said earlier to day that we need to remember that God will always give or provide us with what we need not necessarily with what we want. He knows our needs!
Hope to see you soon!
Keep on writing!!
Judy
Well said, Judy!! I totally agree! I hope to see you when I come back to Michigan in a couple of weeks!! *Happy Holidays!* =)
You have such a beautiful style of writing!
Beauty & Colour | Vegan Lifestyle Blog
Thank you so much, Caitlin!! I appreciate you stopping by Citrus & Sun =)