What Are You Thankful For?

There's a video I'd like to share this morning that was uploaded to Youtube by the Mormon Channel in November 2009. I suppose you could say this is "old news," especially since the holiday that it refers to, but never mentions, has already passed this year. But I'm going to share it anyway, since I'm pretty sure I haven't shared it on my blog yet, and it's a good video in many ways, and besides, is there ever a bad time to think about what you're thankful for?





There are a number of reasons to like this video. The background music is light and fun, the comments that many of the people make are funny, and some of them are insightful and thought-provoking. Many of the comments seem to be the first things that popped into those people's minds, which makes sense, as they were likely not given much time to think about their answers.

One of the main points of this video seems to be giving thanks in all things, even the small things that we rarely notice. Today's a pretty good day outside. The weather isn't absolutely perfect - it's a little cold and breezy for that, but it's not cloudy or rainy, and I should be thankful for that. The computer I use isn't totally phenomenal - it's kind of slow, and youtube doesn't always work right on it, but it does what I need it to do. It lets me blog, check my emails, use Facebook, plan lessons, do homework, and find out more about anything and everything I want to learn about. In fact, in light of all that this computer does for me, complaining that it's sometimes too slow to play videos is extremely petty and picky. This computer is amazing and I am very thankful I get to use it.

I'm also very thankful for my bike. It gets me where I need to go. It's fun to ride. If I wanted to look for things to complain about, I say that it's sometimes hard to shift gears, and the gears themselves aren't perfectly round, but there are SO many things that I want to do and that I need to do that would be impossible for me to do without my awesome bike. I'm very fortunate to have it. And a special thanks to the Lunds for giving it to me. ^^

And while I'm listing things that I'm thankful for, I should at least touch on the big ones that almost everybody mentions. I'm thankful for my family, especially that all of us (except for Ben, who's on his mission) were able to gather together peacefully and have a good Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for my relationship with God, especially that He hasn't given up on me, though heaven knows I've given Him plenty of good reasons to. I'm glad He has stuck with me all these years and that He's still helping me overcome my shortcomings. I'm thankful for Jesus Christ and the unimaginable price He paid for me. And I'm thankful for the Holy Ghost and His tireless efforts to lead me down the right path.

I'm thankful for my home, for warm clothes, for my comfortable bed. I'm thankful for my cell phone, for my ever-helpful multi-tool, and for the little flashlight I carry around. I'm thankful that I earned my Eagle Scout Award and that I served a two-year, full-time mission for my church. I'm grateful for my life and the things I've learned along the way. I'm grateful for straight A's in my English classes. I'm grateful for good friends that inspire me to be a better person.

For almost all of my blessings, I need to thank my Mom. I don't know where I'd be without her (though, I have a guess, and it isn't pretty). Thanks to Mom, I was able to earn my Eagle Scout Award and serve a mission. She home-taught me all the English I needed to get straight A's in college-level classes. She inspired in me a love of God and a desire to follow His plan for me, overcoming obstacles and weaknesses along the way. She taught me how to serve and to enjoy service, and to enjoy the beauty of the world and of music, and to enjoy life. Everything that is good about me can be attributed to my mother. And to God.

We all have a lot to be thankful for - the clothes on our backs, the food in our fridges, the fact that we even have fridges. In the video, Elder Oaks talked about being thankful for our adversities, too, and I might blog about that tomorrow, or later. But for today, I want to focus on my blessings - to notice them, and to remember to thank God for them. Today has already been a wonderful day thanks to all that I have and that I've been able to do, and it's only going to get better. Expressing gratitude for my blessings has made me feel pretty happy right now, and I'm thankful for that, too.