Be not wishing and pining but thankfully content.  For it is a short bridge between wanting and regret."- from "Dimpellumpzki

For things I am not thankful for―experiences I would never volunteer to relive―I recognize how they have changed me. My depth of compassion and humility, the sincerity of my empathy and understanding, and the duration of my patience have all been refined by bitter suffering. I thank God for the lessons learned. I am a better person for it, but I still abhor those awful trials.

Be thankful for your allotment in an imperfect world.  Though better circumstances can be imagined, far worse are nearer misses than you probably care to realize.

Thank you for the day and night,for rainy spells and summer’s light.Thank you for the skies of blueand puffy clouds in grayish hue.Thank you for the gigglefestsand midnight’s cloak to hasten rest.Thank you for tomorrow newand yesterday’s tomorrow too.Thank you for “I’m glad we met”and also for “we haven’t yet.”Thank you for the peace of mind a grateful soul doth always find.

Gratitude is medicine for a heart devastated by tragedy.  If you can only be thankful for the blue sky, then do so.

It is easy to say I am thankful for the sweet and beautiful things in life: flower gardens, ice cream cones, diamond rings, dances under moonlight, children’s laughter, birdsongs, and the like. The challenge is recognizing things of value in the dark, sour, uglier parts of life. But if you look hard enough, you will find that even tough times offer pearls worthy of gratitude.

What are you most thankful for?” she asked.My reply came easily. “Being too blessed to have any hope of answering that question.

From the dawn of dayuntil the crimson sun sets,I humbly give thanks.

Thanksgiving is not only being aware of the abundance of good in the world but embracing it.