Happy (almost) Thanksgiving to all of you!
I know many people are busy preparing recipes for their Thanksgiving feast but today, I want to offer you the opportunity to make a more meaningful Thanksgiving Recipe. This recipe is not about food that you eat, but rather it’s about food for your soul. Its ingredients consist not of turkey and gravy but of joy and meaning.
If you have five minutes, I encourage you to try this out. I recently completed my own Thanksgiving Recipe with my personal Ingredients for Joy and Meaning and I think that it has immense benefits. I’ll explain more later on…
Are you ready? Here we go…
Grab a pen and paper and make a list that answers this question: “When things are going really well in your life, what does it look like?”
Call the list “My Thanksgiving Recipe: Ingredients for Joy and Meaning.” This is your personal Thanksgiving Recipe and I promise you it will be more fulfilling than any other dish you feast upon this holiday season.
Here is a sample with some of the items from my personal Thanksgiving Recipe: Ingredients for Joy and Meaning (to give you some ideas):
– Eating Healthy
– Exercising regularly
– Plenty of sleep
– Lots of time spent in the company of friends
– Meaningful work that doesn’t consume me
– Time spent reading and writing
– Going to church regularly
– Plenty of time to spend with my dog
– Time for singing, dancing, and performing
– Creating and regularing sharing my work with other people
– Not being overly concerned or consumed by family affairs and/or drama
– Time spent outside/exploring
– Adventures and new experiences
– Someone to go on adventures and share these new experiences with who equally enjoys them
– Connecting deeply and spiritually with at least one other person
– Romance
– Progressing towards an established and realistic goal
Once you have finished your Thanksgiving Recipe: Ingredients for Joy and Meaning, now I want you to write a “Dream List” consisting of all of the things that you want to accomplish and/or acquire in your lifetime.
After you’ve completed both lists, compare the two.
I think you may be surprised to find, as I was, that nothing on my “Dream List” in any way enhances or changes my “Thanksgiving Recipe: Ingredients for Joy and Meaning” list.
In other words, if we can simply let go of our “Dream List” and begin to embrace our “Ingredients for Joy and Meaning” list, we’ll realize that we’re already living out our dreams, right now. What more could we possibly have to be thankful for?!
As you go about your Thanksgiving holiday, feel free to pass along this important recipe to your loved ones. And remember, gratitude and joy always go hand in hand.
Happy Thanksgiving!