Uniquely Yours Craft Journal

Dear Fellow Journalers,

In Norman Vincent Peale’s book “Being thankful makes everything better”, he wrote about American writer and lecturer Dale Carnegie. It seems that for a long period of his life, Mr. Carnegie suffered from what we probably call “clinical depression.” Rather than see a physician who would only prescribe medications, Mr. Carnegie decided to treat himself. His unique approach did not cure him overnight but in time he did get better and went on to inspire others through his books and lectures.

He sat down one day and wrote out a list of his blessings. This was probably, for him, a difficult task as he was not comprehending or accepting any blessings in his state of mind. Most of us would have stopped right there, but Mr. Carnegie went on to write a list of hypothetical problems. ‘What would my life be like if _______ came to pass?’ he asked himself. As days went by and none of those imaginary things happened, he gratefully crossed them off his list.  So began his journey back to a reality of thankfulness for his life, his family, his gifts and talents.

Being thankful is a state of mind and a habit we all should cultivate not just this month, but all the days of our lives. This month, we’ll explore the many ways we can be thankful and show our “attitude of gratitude” to others.

To get us started, I found a “Random Acts of Kindness Suggestion Calendar” at my church recently. Day one reads ” Pay the order of the person behind you in the drive thru line.”  Before you scoff, think about this – you have enough money  to buy a fast food meal, while many people are just scrapping by. Maybe the person behind you is working 2-3 jobs just to keep the lights on…

‘Til next time,

~Sallie