By: Sierra Force ’20, staff writer

According to the dictionary, the word “thankful” is described as to be well-pleased or glad or to be expressive of thanks or to be conscious of a benefit received. In simplest terms, we are full of thanks. But are we only thankful during the days approaching Thanksgiving? 

November is a celebratory month in which is meant to honor and recognize the people and items in our lives we are most thankful and grateful for. While the holiday holds a purpose to appreciate those things, I wonder how often we take those things for granted during any other given time of the year. 

Being thankful does not come and go and it does not stop and begin when we want it to. It should always be present and very much alive. It makes me question if we are truly thankful or just believe we deserve those things on our “thankful” list. 

 Are we truly thankful for the meals we receive each day and the clothes that we wear? Are we truly thankful to return to a warm bed each and every night? Are we truly thankful for our favorite blankets and coziest fireplaces in winter? Are we truly thankful for the cars that take us from place to place? Or do we believe that we deserve all these things simply because they exist or that we are worthy enough to have these things in our daily possession? 

Obtaining a mindset of always deserving something isn’t being thankful. Being constantly and consistently thankful isn’t switched on when the calendar flips from October to November. Being thankful is a state of mind and an awareness of the present. It is having the warmest feeling inside ourselves as we feel truly happy of what is occurring around us. It is being unconditionally thankful. 

Are we unconditionally thankful for the remaining 364 days of the year? 

Not to sound cliché, but being constantly thankful comes with paying attention to the world around us, always recognizing and appreciating the positive things we endure day in and day out. We must notice the things that are present and prominent in our lives that are absent in another human’s routine. 

We should attempt to condition ourselves in giving thanks and feeling grateful multiple times of the year, rather than just once. We should not entitle ourselves into believing we deserve something just because we exist. 

Be thankful and grateful for the things you have access to and in which you own. November is a great time for an abundance of thanks, but so is October and December, March, July, and any other month in between. 

What will you give thanks for today?