Gratitude-Giving
By: Payton McKelvey
Fall is in full swing, and our senses are filled daily with reminders that it’s finally here. The crunch of leaves under your feet, the wind blowing the leaves off the trees, and the taste of pumpkins appearing everywhere you go are all sure signs that this wonderous season has finally made its grand entrance. Now, most people probably associate fall with Halloween, but there is another holiday for us Canadians that is just as important and that is Thanksgiving!
Keeping in mind that not all students at Concordia celebrate Thanksgiving, I’m not going to focus on the main specifics that the holiday entails but instead on the overall theme: gratitude. Being thankful and having gratitude are easily interchangeable subjects and are topics that should always be recognized, whether there is a holiday for it or not. Focusing on the things in your life that you are grateful for can be a very good mindfulness practice; it can help raise your spirits in more difficult times and help you realize all the good you have in your life. This practice has in fact gained so much popularity for mental health purposes over the years that gratitude journals have been created and widely distributed in stores. A journal isn’t needed for such a practice though– you could simply find a scrap piece of paper and a pen and begin to ponder some of the things you are grateful for.
There are other more creative and fun ways that you can choose to acknowledge the gratitude you have in your life as well. I’m going to share one of those ways that also goes along with the theme of the season. Go out and buy a large pumpkin, then use a permanent marker to write all the things you are grateful for on the outside of it. Afterward, place the pumpkin in a place that is visible to you daily; having it there will give you a daily reminder of your gratitude throughout the month of October. Another fun way to record the things you are grateful for is to make gratitude jars-- a jar that you fill with pieces of paper containing one thing you’re grateful for on each. This would be a fun project to do with friends as well; you can decorate them however you would like and make your jar unique to you. Keep blank pieces of paper and a pen near the jar, and try to challenge yourself to add one thing you’re grateful for each day.
These two ideas shared are just a couple of ways to express the things you are grateful for; feel free to google more fun ways or even come up with your own! I hope that each and every one of you can find something to be grateful for this season and enjoy the fall season to its full extent. To those who celebrate Thanksgiving-- I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and a full tummy! For those who do not, I hope you enjoy the long weekend and the extra day break from classes!
