by Carly Mayer, M.S.
Each year, the calendar provides us with certain days to be thankful, Thanksgiving being the most obvious. On this day, many people try to pinpoint exactly what they are thankful for and be more aware of the positive aspects of their lives. Some families go around the dinner table and say what they are thankful for, but I would venture to say that most families do not ask each family member to be aware all of the different things they are thankful for in their lives. So my questions are: Why aren’t we doing this everyday? Why doesn’t every person do this on our own? Why do we choose one time a year specifically to be thankful when we could be thankful everyday?
Mindfulness has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing stress, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain. It emphasizes staying present, maintaining alert, and withholding judgment. This requires a deeper awareness of thoughts, without the reactions, such as emotions or other thoughts. Therefore, mindfulness requires that feelings, thoughts, and sensations are just observed and accepted. It can involve something as simple as being aware of one’s breath, surroundings, or even specific objects. It can essentially involve being aware and accepting of anything in our lives without judging others or ourselves. Mindfulness is what Thanksgiving is all about: being aware of the good and even the bad, but accepting it as a part of our lives and withholding judgment.
In REBT, we learn that we are in charge of our own reactions, feelings, and thoughts and once we are accepting of these, we have the ability to accept ourselves, no matter the situation. And therefore REBT and Mindfulness overlap quite nicely. Utilizing REBT along with Mindfulness practice can help us to be aware of these responses and can help us to see what is helpful and what is unhelpful for reaching our goals. So I say we use Thanksgiving, as a reminder to not only be aware of what we are thankful for on that one day, but also everyday.
