How To Cheer Up during Pandemic Thanksgiving 2020
Dear 2020...
Dear 2020…What do I thank you for this Thanksgiving day? Yes, for what? 2020 has been a very distressing year! We are still in the clutches of the pandemic, lashing at us in waves while the future looks foggy and hazy.
For the most part of the year, we were under lockdown and there’s a possibility of more lockdowns. How did we while away our time? Just potter about house and make umpteen trips to the family headquarters-the kitchen!
But then, 2020 has been very enterprising! It launched a brand new addition to our existing accessories – the facial mask. We can now fritter away our time by making colorful mix and match masks to suit our attires. A novel hobby during the pandemic times!
The dissimilarity between Thanksgiving 2020 and the Thanksgiving Days of the previous years is unbelievable!
Sweet November
The Thanksgiving month of November has always been the most hectic and cheerful month of all. The air is nippy and crisp. Our carefully packed Christmas tree and ornaments are brought out from their hideaway, our creativity sparked, our alpha waves activated by doing crafts and planning the Christmas décor!
The absolute fun of soaking and mixing the fruits in liquor for the Christmas cake, the tipsy smell of fruits, nuts, and liquor hitting our nostrils, the giddy excitement and thrill of preparing for the festive Christmas season followed by the ringing in of the New Year!
Come November, our walls start echoing Christmas carols and hymns, our laughter and loud chatter around the Christmas tree during get-togethers all herald the approach of Christmas.
November 2020
In contrast, 2020 November and Thanksgiving are gloomy with no plans for family dinners, no get-togethers, no fun ..everything seems disheartening. Of course, we have the zoom and video call options to be in touch with family and friends. Still, it is not the same!
I seem to be slipping into a state of despondency and dejection.
At this point, my mind screamed, ‘STOP. Enough of negativities’
Thanksgiving is about all the blessings received and counting your blessings, isn’t it? So what is the need to gripe?
I remembered the beautiful gratitude hymn that I love…
Count your Blessings
When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings; name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
Now, this is exactly what I decided to do, count my blessings!
My Blessings
With a flourish, I started penning or rather typing down the countless blessings I have been showered upon!
First and foremost, I thank God for my life, my parents and my childhood.
I value the blessings of my five younger siblings who have been my moral support and lifeline throughout my life’s journey! Sharing laughter, wiping tears, and lifting me when I am in the dumps!
I miss my beautiful grand mom-the sweetest, gentlest, soft spoken and the kindest of all grand moms- I love you so with all my heart!
I am grateful for my husband of nearly 50 yrs, in spite of our differences and annoying each other.
I treasure the blessings of my 3 beautiful children. The happiest days of my life belonged to the time when they were at home and I was the center of their lives! How they adored me!
My loving in-laws..most of whom have passed on, but their sweet memories linger on! Now their wonderful children are there for me. I am grateful to God for my dearest nieces and nephews.
I cherish the blessings of my beautiful home and garden…
I am thankful for the blessing of a priceless gift..Joel,my daughters husband.Thank you Lord.
Above all, I praise God for the blessings of health. Health is wealth indeed. What is wealth without health? Nothing!
The power of counting blessings..
As I was halfway through writing out my blessings, I realized that I could hardly remember my troubles (of course, there are many!) Or the woes of the pandemic and the lockdown.
It dawned on me that the power of counting blessings is unmistakably real! We tend to forget the blessings till we count them, one by one!
Maybe we should call ‘counting blessings’ – a ‘gratitude exercise’?
Gratitude changes our perspective and outlook on life. It’s impossible to be thankful and negative at the same time!
Ruminating my blessings, I am soaked in positive energy, vitality, and optimism. Counting my blessings and reliving happy memories made me appreciative of the good things in life and forget the bitter dollops thrown my way. Counting your blessings and gratitude is an effective mood booster!
This gratitude exercise reveals that our positive thoughts do reflect in our body language and we are more warm, friendly, and exuberant.
On the other hand, negative thoughts make us grumpy, moody, and sulky. And when there is an absence of gratitude, there is a presence of vanity, conceit, and narcissism.
I should have done this ‘gratitude exercise’ more often during the lockdown period. It would have done me a world of good by annulling my negative thoughts and pessimistic mood.
Extra blessings..
Looking around at the harsh realities of the pandemic times breaks my heart. The sufferings of the less privileged fellow human beings are unbearable. Migrants dislocated with no roof over their heads, people with no jobs and income are struggling to have a square meal, I am devastated.
I say a silent prayer, ‘ Dear Lord, I am incredibly grateful for the blessings of the roof over my head, my warm bed and a table of wholesome food and of course the Internet and Tv to be in touch with the world.’
I am also appreciative of certain blessings that I tend to take for granted. The blessings of wisdom, blessings of knowledge, and blessings of abundance that can fulfill our inherent nature to be of help to others.
I thank God for evincing the power of counting one’s blessings and to have a positive attitude and a positive mindset in whatever situation.
“ Those blessings are sweetest that are won with prayer and worn with thanks.” – Thomas Goodwin
Finally… I am alive!
I have this moment and day. Hopefully, I will have more days, more blessings to experience life!
Conclusion
We are all alive at this moment. On a positive note, cheers to us! We are living in ‘Historic’ times and we will be in history books!
Last but not least, let’s hope against hope, that together we will all emerge victorious from these harrowing times, and look forward to the magic of delightful and joyous normal times again!
It may be stormy now, but it can’t rain forever!
Happy Thanksgiving 2020!
You may like to read about the Confessions of a Covid 19Lock down surviv0r..
Or maybe why you ought to forgive others..
So aptly put. We forget the many blessings we take for granted until it is taken away.
Thankful for family and friends and all the wonderful memories
Yes ..Thanks to the Almighty Lord.