Season of Gratitude
This post is a part of the Season of Gratitude Series. You can participate by writing a gratitude post and telling me about it. For more details, click here.

I was going to write a post that listed 101 ways to give thanks. I was going to include things like giving a hug, a gentle touch, a generous donation, laughing at a joke. But during my meditation, I had an insight.

When I started this project, I wanted to see what the blogosphere was made of. It was a challenge to myself to see how creative I could be with a concept and to see how much we, personal development bloggers, would really walk our talk. I wanted to see how grateful I am in my life and to examine what exactly I was grateful for.

Here’s my insight: There is a prerequisite for gratitude. You have to be open to receive. Personally, I suck at it. In order to give thanks, you have to have been given something for which to be thankful. Giving thanks requires you to be humble, and worse, for me anyway, vulnerable.

Yes, in my everyday life there’s tons that I am thankful for. People, places, things, that I found that I took for granted. However, I spend a lot of time not accepting gifts in subtle ways so that I won’t have to be “beholden” to anyone. It’s hindering my joy, stopping my blessings.

Today, I challenge you (and myself) to be open to the blessings that come your way: the hug that someone offers, the listening ear, the unexpected check in the mail, the compliment. I invite you to have a reason to be thankful, to be humble and vulnerable.

Let me know how it goes!