Why be thankful when times are tough?

First, we need to remember that our grandparents and great-grandparents went through much worse and survived it. Hang out with people you care about, cut unnecessary spending, look for the resources you need (our ancestors didn't have the Internet, so finding help is much easier for us than it was for them). If you're underemployed, research nonprofits, find one or more you like and volunteer. There are often perks for volunteers, you meet others with your priorities and sometimes you can land a job with the nonprofit after you've been there for a while.

I try to count my blessings and be thankful for what I DO have and not focus on what I DON'T have or what has or may be taken away from me. Last year, weeks before Thanksgiving, I had a hemorraghic stroke at 49 years old. I was fit and took care of myself, but in a split second, a blood vessel broke in my brain, something so unexpected and it could very well have taken my life. So, I am mostly thankful that I am here to have a Thanksgiving Day. Because, we take for granted, including myself, that everyday is a gift, and I try everyday to find something I am grateful for or appreciate, including the small things. And, it is difficult to do that sometimes but I manage to find something.

I'm always thankful for chances to redeem myself after making a mistake or if things don't go as well as I'd like. I'm also thankful this year in particular to have a girlfriend by my side whom I love very much and will always have my back. :)

All I have to do is look at my beautiful son

I made it through prostate cancer this year, because I happen to live in Boston where we have the best health care providers in the world
My investment portfolio is down over 40% but I own a home that I will never have to leave
Though my Dad never had the chance, I have seen the Red Sox win two World Series
I beleive in God, and realize that every day is an opprtunity to share His love and compassion with others who are in need.
What more could you ask for?

I am thankful for my health. I see all these young kids who are sick in the hospital and feel so bad for them. I wish that they would get better so they could enjoy a normal life like other kids, so they could ride a bike, play Little League, etc.

I am thankful I still have my parents. They are in their mid-60's and even though they can be annoying, I realize that they won't be around forever, so I must cherish the time we spend together.

I'm thankful that I live in the most recession-proof (thx Forbes) city in the country...Austin, TX.

For me the key is being thankful for the imperfect. Many people I hear are only thankful if they have the perfect job, the perfect spouse or kids, the perfect house, the perfect country, etc., as if any of those 'perfect' things were truly perfect. I try to be thankful for a pretty good, very good, but imperfect life, and its better than the alternative.

As an non-believer aka atheist when it comes to a personal god, I say give more when you are poor because it keeps you humble, and be thankful when the world is against you because it makes you stronger and better.

The fact that people used this holiday to be thankful is sad in itself. There should not be a "thanksgiving" day. Moreover, we should not need to get into the holiday spirit each year to give.

What happen to being thankful everyday?

I'm thankful to be sober first and foremost, I have struggled with addictions for years, and this will be my fifth holiday season without drugs and alcohol...what a gift!! Then I'm grateful for my three beautiful children who give me purpose every day..who have taught me patience and tolerance....I am employed, I have what I need, maybe not what I want, but thats in God's hands...after that it's all gravy!!!!

I am grateful that I am here this Thanksgiving. I almost died last Christmas, but survived. I lost my job in May, but I have hung in there. I have some wonderful friends and a turkey on the table and lights over my head.

I am pretty poor right now, but I am working and I have a house for now, I am thankful for my friends and family. God bless us all!

Gratitude is like exercise - the more you do it, the better you get at it! There are some subtle tricks you can play on yourself to get into the habit of gratitude. When things go wrong, be thankful that you had a backup plan or are flexible or smart enough to make the best of it. When you're bored, be thankful that you have the luxury of free time. When people are rotten to you, be thankful that you've got a good attitude and aren't miserable and making an ass of yourself or getting dragged down into replicating somebody else's meanness. When you hear bad news, be thankful that it didn't happen to you. When you get sick or injured, be thankful for your immune system and your body's innate repair mechanisms.
Also, pay attention to what's going on around you - a particularly spectacular sunset viewed out the window of the Red Line, a cute friendly dog, the smell of good coffee, your best friend's honesty, your favorite pair of shoes, a task skillfully accomplished.
You don't even have to believe in God. Thank your lucky stars, fate, your own foresight, the people around you, your parents/upbringing... just appreciate. It's an easy habit to form, and a REAL stress-buster!

I give thanks every day for the many small and/or large things that happened which made my life easier, better, richer in some way. As I sit here incapacitated by a severe case of sciatica I am thankful my son is home from college for the holiday, that we got to celebrate together as a family by preparing and eating a wonderful meal together, that we got to chat on the phone with our extended family in other parts of the country and that my loving family took over doing all the cooking and cleaning up since I can barely move in my current condition. I'm also thankful I have health insurance that is allowing me to get treatment for this ailment and a job that helps me pay my bills. Much to be thankful for every day...

I give thanks for the wonderful and heartwarming comments that I have read on this site tonight. They are inspiring. I also give thanks for my family and my job, and that my breast cancer has not reoccured. I am five years out. I am a survivor. I am extremely thankful for my little boy. I hope to see him grow up and thrive in the world. I am truly thankful for life and the second chance that I have been so blessed to receive.

Rev. Grover says we should be grateful for life. Amen, but as I age I look to the life to come. As Christians we believe that there is more to life than just what goes on here on Earth. Someday the Earth will not be the same, the sun is due to expire in a billion or so years.

Hi Michael, could you please solicit comments from area UU churches next time? And Buddhist and other non-Christian leaders too? Thanks

Why am I thankful? In the spring of 1964, I was diagnosed as having spinal meningitis and survived. A year later the same thing happened again. But having meningitis 2 years running didn't make sense so they did more studies. They determined I had a brain tumor and did surgery to remove the tumor. When they got to it, the discovered I had an aneurysm not a tumor. They also concluded I never had meningitis but that I had had an aneurysm that had bled out the year before.
I’m thankful to be alive with a wife and 3 children and a home.
josephwb

I have a lot to be thankful for in my own life--great family, health, no several economic issues, but I can't help thinking about all the people around this world who are suffering. I am grateful for my life, but I'm not sure who I should be thanking...it certainly can't be god--he either doesn't exist or he's a complete masochist. Don't even get me started on the hypocrisy of some "religious" people and their leaders--what a sham!