Weekly Thought > Personal Growth > Personal Day of Thanksgiving (Part 2)

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Personal Day of Thanksgiving (Part 2)

This is Part Two of Fred�s current series.

Some of my friends have been intensely interested in this �Personal Day of Thanksgiving.� They would like to develop one for themselves. In talking to them about it I put together a structure and thought you might be interested, as well.

As you remember, my day was literally ALL DAY. My friends thought that they could cover it in 30 minutes and not devote an entire day to the process. However, they soon realized the breadth of the exercise.

The first step is organizing categories. Much to my surprise I ended up with 40 separate categories which meant that twenty minutes on each one would fill my day. For example, I listed the really stimulating conversations I have had including such men as the iconoclastic journalist Izzy Stone, the drummer Buddy Rich, the intellectual Norman Cousins, T.George Harris, journalist and publisher, and the American reporter for the London Times.

In meeting he asked about my politics. My response, "I am a conservative Republican."
"Good! I'm a liberal."
When he asked about my theological position I said, "Evangelical."
Again, he responded, "Good! I'm an atheist,"
His next remark was challenging. "Come on in, we have the basis of an interesting conversation."

Once I organized the categories I went back and revisited them. I found it important to flesh out in detail the experiences for which I was thankful. For example, spiritual songs that have instructed and encouraged me. I named each one and tried to recite as many of the lyrics as I could. One night driving from Memphis to Nashville I sang every song that I could remember -- approximately 200. I guess I was getting in practice for my Personal Day of Thanksgiving 50 years ago!

These 40 categories gave me the basis for one of my great days.

Next time I will try to make you familiar with other categories.

This week think about: 1) How would I organize categories for gratitude and thanksgiving? 2) What details of my life story do I need to remember with appreciation?

3) When am I going to devote a day to personal thanksgiving?