Happy Thanksgiving Day Canada!

Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada.  As I celebrated and gave thanks with friends last evening, I wondered out loud “Where did the tradition of Canadian Thanksgiving come from”?  Most present proferred that it is an adoption of the American custom.

Not satisfied with this explanation, I googled “History of Thanksgiving in Canada” and learned that the tradition harks way back to the First Nations, when native Americans would give thanks for their bountiful harvest.  Then, an explorer, Martin Frobisher, continued the tradition, giving thanks for his safe homecoming after attempting to find a northern passage to the Pacific Ocean.  And the history continued, with various groups of settlers giving thanks each year for a multitude of blessings – harvest, safe passage, end of war – even the recovery of a prince from illness!

But all of these facts are just historical facts.  The real issue is the importance of  the collective national consciousness of gratitude. The Law of Gratitude states that whatever we give thanks for, we receive more of.  It is closely aligned to the Law of Attraction.  Why does it work?  When we express gratitude, we are focusing our energy on something that has resulted in good in our lives.   “Energy flows where focus goes” meaning that more energy flows to what has brought us joy and happiness, thus creating more of it.   This law works for the individual as well as for groups.  There is no limit to the law of gratitude – it works the same for 1 person as for 34 million or 7.6 billion!

Families all over Canada are gathering and giving thanks this weekend (most stores are closed, so at the very least, there is nothing else to do but gather together)!  All weekend, store clerks have bid me “Happy Thanksgiving” in addition to the usual “Thank you have a nice day”.  Invariably, it has brought smiles to both of us.  This national consciousness of giving thanks harnesses the power of gratitude to further bless the nation and its residents.  More importantly, this national gratitude will extend throughout the world, for the power of gratitude knows no manmade borders, it knows no limit and it knows no end.

Today, give thanks for the bounteous blessings in your life.  And if you think your blessings are not bounteous, start writing them down – the big and the small – you will be amazed at the length of the list!  Say a special word of gratitude for Planet Earth and its blessings and beauty.  Be grateful for the nation, city, town and community in which you live.  Express gratitude for your family and friends.  And most of all, be grateful that you are who you are – a manifestation of the magnificence of creation!