In this season of thanksgiving, what are you thankful for?
Most people say they are thankful for their family in general, usually referring to their parents, grandparents, and children but I wonder how many are consciously thankful for their spouse. It is one’s spouse that often knows them the best – most completely. The good and the bad. The best and the worst. And this level of familiarity and vulnerability – aka intimacy, doesn’t usually promote a spirit of thankfulness.
But
it’s these most intimate relationships that provide the greatest opportunity for personal growth, and for that opportunity, we can be thankful! Our deepest relationships are a laboratory for growth. We’re forced to grow up and mature; change and develop. In the laboratory of relationships, we’re confronted with our best self – the part to acknowledge, be proud of, and pass on to others; along with our worst self – the part to acknowledge, apologize for, and seek to mend. Without our deepest relationships, most of these characteristics never have to be acknowledged and explored. Without relationships, we miss growth opportunities. Without our spouse, often our most intimate relationship, we lose that all-important mirror of ourselves. And thus for this reason and many others, it’s appropriate to give thanks.
What are you thankful for? How are you growing?
