book review: Being Grateful, Being Thankful
It’s always a good time to feel grateful and give thanks, so in this post I’d like to share a review of an e-book by Sarah Butland of Nova Scotia, Canada, that reminds us all how lucky we are.
Being Grateful, Being Thankful: Appreciate Everything to Be Happy For Even The Rain Brings Rainbows is an inspirational read that reminds us to be grateful for everything in our lives. Butland reminds us to be grateful for the obvious things like family, friends, our home, and job, but also reminds us to be thankful for less obvious things such as our driver’s licence, credit cards, and running water.
She helps us take stock and realize that no matter what is happening in our lives, there is something to be grateful for, and that we likely have it better than someone else–even if we feel disadvantaged and wanting more.
At the bottom of each page is a mantra to help us express our gratitude for everything from sun to rain.
I especially like Butland’s interpretation of Family. Here is an excerpt from that page:
Look around you, not at the blood that determines your faith, but the family you have chosen to share your life with. These are the people you can depend on and cry with when times get tough, as well as rejoice with when those times pass. Family will be with you until the end, whether or not they are linked through blood.
Mantra: I rejoice in the family who surrounded me on the first day and through all the days in between. Grateful am I to those who believe in me and ensure I have something to believe in. Thank you, family, for I am everything with you by my side.
Those are incredible words to live by, as I firmly believe the word ‘family’ is often interpreted by too many as simply those to whom we are related by blood. To me (and to Butland) family means anyone who really loves and supports us. They are our eternal family.
I congratulate Sarah Butland for putting her inspirational thoughts together to help us take stock of our lives. I also commend her for having the courage to conduct a crowdfunding campaign on PubSlush to raise funds to publish her book. I encourage you to get a copy of Being Grateful, Being Thankful for yourself or someone you love.
Hope you had a good thanksgiving weekend! What a perfect post to follow up with. I really like what you said about family not necessarily blood ties. I think , while blood family may be close, day to day support is very often friends we might have had for years or new ones we make along the way. Thanks so much for an inspiring post. The book sounds great.
Thx for your comment and kind words, Kathy.
I have lifelong friends who I consider to be family as I come from a very small nuclear family. But they come from very large families, and I know they don’t put me in the ‘family’ category even though we are extremely close. It’s very odd (and interesting!) how the perception of ‘family’ is so different from person to person. Cheers!
Sounds like an inspirational read. We so often forget the many things we should be grateful for. I, too, like the definition of family. I am fortunate to belong to several families, some of which I am blood-related to, others not. I am grateful for all of them.
Thanks for being the one to start the discussion on this post, Donna.
Yes, I think it’s a really cool idea to really take stock of our lives and be grateful for the many smaller (and perhaps overlooked) positives in our lives, as we too often become pre-occupied with the really bog things. And yes, anyone who brings light to our lives should be welcomed to the ‘family’ circle. Cheers, and have a super day!