Have an attitude of gratitude during the holidays

By Michael Thompson

Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008 | 2:22 p.m.

'Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la, la la la la. For some the nature of that song sounds more like bla, bla, bla, bla, bla. Facing such unparalleled issues of the economy, unemployment, and families needing to provide for their basic needs, let alone the specialties of this holiday season, one could easily become despondent.

Years ago, there was a song writer Bobby McFerrin, who penned the phrase, "Don't Worry, Be Happy," in that famous song he went on to sing "in life we will have some trouble, but if we worry we make it double, don't worry be happy." At face value, this simple phrase would seem almost like a denial of the reality that many people are currently experiencing, yet on another level, such a thought might just be what the doctor ordered.

Let me share what I mean. In his book "Man's Search For Meaning," Viktor Frankl shared a similar understanding, and a possible prescription, that can be used to elevate our hearts and minds when he wrote "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human freedoms. To choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

To this end I would like to encourage people to explore within themselves an attitude of gratitude. To help in this process ask your self the question, "In life, what are the things that I am thankful for?" I would even encourage you to sit down with paper and pencil in hand to actually write out a list of those things, both big and small, that you can find thanks for having or experiencing in your life.

So in this holiday season I encourage all of us to open the gift, "to choose one's own way regardless of the circumstances."