BEING THANKFUL

So just this week I met a bunch of amazing people and whilst hanging with them the question of what we were most thankful for came up. For the first time in the last 3 years I couldn't actually say what I was thankful for. It’s not that I had nothing to be thankful for it’s just that I've been so caught up in life’s issues I forgot to be thankful for anything.

So there I was dumb founded by what should have been an obviously easy question and I couldn't think of one thing to be thankful for. In that moment I decided to think about all the things I was thankful for, because if I had to be honest I was blessed beyond abundance. I have chosen the 12 gifts from the movie: The Ultimate Gift to be thankful for. The movie considered the following 12 gifts as the most important gifts to be thankful for in life.

The Gift of Work:
I was grateful for being at school and following the promise to myself to get to a certain education level at a certain age. I was busy accomplishing this yet I wasn't even grateful for it.
The Gift of Money:
I might not rich but I wasn't starving either so clearly in the money department I was sorted yet I was still not grateful for this gift.
The Gift of Friends:
This was the one thing gift I was most grateful for. I had the most amazing friends who would move heaven and earth for me in fact I consider them my brothers and sisters. They have held my hand in the darkest hours of my life and they were always consistent in their loyalty to me my mini Oprah’s as I call them.
The Gift of Learning:
Learning as a gift for me is reflective of the lessons and issues I've conquered and overcome. How many people actually consider that a gift, hell even I have never considered it as one but it was something to be grateful for.
The Gift of Problems:
On this all I can say is, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and if you've been through problems and come out tops be grateful especially if you've still maintained your level of sanity.
The Gift of Family:
How does one survive in this jungle without a strong family foundation? In fact anyone who has met my family knows they are a crazy bunch but they love and give unconditionally in fact they are always willing to fight my battles for me……………..gotta love the family.
The Gift of Laughter:
This is something I haven’t indulged in the longest of time but it is something I am working hard on to revive. Laughter keeps the doctor and all negative things away. I am learning to re-appreciate this oh so previous young past gift.
The Gift of Dreams:
This is the gift I am working on the hardest. Without our dreams we are basically navigating through life without a compass, so if you have dreams hold onto them and work hard to making them a reality. It is the one thing no human being can take away from you plus it’s free. 
The Gift of Giving:
This is one gift that I have lost touch with. Giving is one of the most important aspects as it keeps us in touch with our humanity and sense of care. When you give, give selflessly and without any expectations.
The Gift of Gratitude:
Ultimately be thankful for all that you are, have and will accomplish in life.
The Gift of a Day:
How many of us actually wake up and thank the Lord for a new day? That is the one gift we take for granted. There are people out there praying for extra an day for they know the end is near but for those of us in good health, we cannot even be thankful for a dawn of a new day. Appreciate every sunrise and sunset.
The Gift of Love:
Love, the ultimate gift for it induces all the other gifts for it is the one emotion that is a universal language. When was the last time you told someone you loved them and meant it? When was the last time you showed a strange love? The power of love has the ability to both wound and heal but when used for the latter; it has the ability to do so much. In fact according to the bible in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 love is the greatest gift because “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”.