As we approach Thanksgiving, and we prepare to gather around the table with family and friends, eating our favorite foods, telling stories, and giving thanks, it’s time for the fourth and final week of my November gratitude challenge.
To recap, we’ve done three challenges so far this month, each one offering it’s own lens into how we can cultivate more grateful hearts:
Today, it’s time for the fourth and final challenge. And for it, you’re going to write…
The Long Overdue Thank You
Today I’m inviting you to spend a few moments sitting quietly, bringing to mind someone who has been particularly good to you. Maybe it’s someone from your childhood, or maybe it’s someone in your life today. Maybe it was a favorite teacher, or a coach, or a neighbor. Maybe it’s a relative or a colleague or an old friend.
There are no rules except these:
- The thought of this person must warm your heart and fill it with gratitude.
- The person who comes to mind first is EXACTLY right.
Got it?
Okay, once you have your person in mind, you are going to write a thank you, one that you may find is long overdue. Yep. You’re going to put aside what you’re doing to give this gift to someone whose very presence has been a gift to YOU.
You can write your letter on pretty stationery, or you can type it into an email, or you can even drop it into a string of texts. Whatever works.
Your person may no longer be alive, but you can STILL write the letter. Perhaps you can send it to their son or daughter, or perhaps you can write it and tuck it away in a drawer knowing it will never be sent.
Just write it.
And do it right now. This doesn’t have to take all day. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be done.
We can’t let gratitude continue to go unexpressed. I’ve found that it too often does, and hearts that could be full sit empty. Today’s the day we can change that, collectively.
Pour gratitude into someone’s heart today. And see what that does for your own. 
