There are so many ways to make the most of the leftovers from your Thanksgiving table.? From the classic turkey sandwich (add a bit of cranberry sauce and a dab of spicy mustard!), to leftover sweet potatoes, which can easily be turned into amazing gnocchi with the addition of some flour, an egg and a bit of salt, you really can do some amazing things to extend your holiday meal. What’s true for the food on our tables can be just as true for the experience of gratitude which typically animates at least the opening moments of many Thanksgiving meals.
You really can extend your experience of gratitude, if not to all year, at least for longer than it might normally last. And frankly, it’s in your best interest to do this, as gratitude is actually a medically proven path to achieving greater happiness and better overall health.
So what can you do to accomplish this? Here are five pretty straightforward steps that should at least get you through Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa or however you celebrate the possibility of light and warmth during winter’s darkest and coldest days:
- Start a Gratitude Diary.? This can be written or verbal. It can be spoken aloud or simply something upon which you focus for a few minutes at some regular time in your day. Personally, I find that when I first wake up and when I go to bed work best, but see what works best for you. However you do so, take a moment each day to identify something or someone for which you are grateful.
- Share something from your daily diary.? At least once a month, tell a friend or loved one a story about something for which you are grateful. Don’t be surprised to find yourself smiling by the end of that story.
- Acknowledge that happiness and satisfaction are different.? We can want more than we currently have and still be happy with what we’ve got. Wanting more does not have to get in the way of enjoying what we already have. If it does, we will never have enough.
- Appreciate that abundance, be it relationships or in material wealth is all relative.? A person who lives in a $100,000 house in a neighborhood of $75,000 homes experiences living in a mansion. The same house in a neighborhood of $500,000 homes may feel like a hovel.
- Help yourself by helping others.? The holidays are a great time to reach out to other people in need. Helping others address their needs is one of the best ways to relieve the anxiety we may feel about our own.
Watch the accompanying video below, from Odyssey Networks’ Faith on the Record series:
Odyssey Networks tells the stories of faith in action changing the world for the better. Their stories explore a wide range of issues including peace, tolerance, social justice and the environment.
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Listed for many years in Newsweek as one of America’s “50 Most Influential Rabbis” and recognized as one of our nation’s leading “Preachers and Teachers,” by Beliefnet.com, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield serves as the President of Clal–The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, a training institute, think tank, and resource center nurturing religious and intellectual pluralism within the Jewish community, and the wider world, preparing people to meet the biggest challenges we face in our increasingly polarized world.
An ordained Orthodox rabbi who studied for his PhD and taught at The Jewish Theological Seminary, he has also taught the University of Pennsylvania, where he directs an ongoing seminar, and American Jewish University. Rabbi Brad regularly teaches and consults for the US Army and United States Department of Defense, religious organizations — Jewish and Christian — including United Seminary (Methodist), Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (Modern Orthodox) Luther Seminary (Lutheran), and The Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative) — civic organizations including No Labels, Odyssey Impact, and The Aspen Institute, numerous Jewish Federations, and a variety of communal and family foundations.
Hirschfield is the author and editor of numerous books, including You Don’t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism, writes a column for Religion News Service, and appears regularly on TV and radio in outlets ranging from The Washington Post to Fox News Channel. He is also the founder of the Stand and See Fellowship, which brings hundreds of Christian religious leaders to Israel, preparing them to address the increasing polarization around Middle East issues — and really all currently polarizing issues at home and abroad — with six words, “It’s more complicated than we know.”