An Attitude of Gratitude

They were a small community. They moved into a land much different from their homeland. They were ill-prepared for the hardships they encountered. They were cut off from their families and friends back home. At the end of their first year in their new home, nearly half of their population had died. To say they lived in a challenging situation would be an understatement. They were out of their comfort zone and barely surviving. What would be their next steps? What would you have done?

The Pilgrims decided to celebrate with a feast of Thanksgiving. They thanked God for helping them survive and providing for their needs in their new home that first year. In spite of losing half their population, they gave thanks! Instead of wallowing in their misery and whining about their misfortunes, they chose to be thankful for what they had. They had an attitude of gratitude. It strengthened them for the coming year. 

In the midst of all our difficulties, what can we find to be thankful for this year?

Happy Thanksgiving!

8 Seconds

8 seconds. It is amazing how powerful 8 seconds can be. I finished reading a book last week written by a recovered drug addict. One of his secrets to beating his addiction was to simply get his mind off his cravings for a short time. A psychologist had told him that if he could resist the urge to act on his impulse for 8 seconds, that it would go away. So he taught himself to shift his mind from the addict's impulse for drugs to some positive image for just those few seconds. And, he said, the urge would usually leave. Of course, there were the occasional, and stronger, urgings that didn't work for and required some additional help; you will have to read Josh Hamilton's "Beyond Belief" to get the whole picture of his experience in breaking the addiction.

That little "8 second" rule got me thinking. Maybe our mother's suggestion to "count to 10" before saying anything when angry really works. Could we use the drug addict's 8-second rule to help us deal with our temper? Could we use the 8-second rule to help us with "snack attacks"? Could we use the 8-second rule before responding to that flame-mail? Could we use the 8-second rule before we roll our eyes or exhibit other negative body language? Where else could we use the 8-second rule? And what would be the positive outcomes of using the 8-second rule?