BEING THANKFUL ON PURPOSE

Hey everybody, I hope you're week is going well. Mine is going great, especially now since the work week is short due to the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday. And speaking of Thanksgiving, have you ever taken time to think about the true meaning behind the first 6 letters in that word? I know...neither have I (LOL), BUT...that word "thanks" might seem small to some yet mean so much in the life of the person on the receiving end. With so many challenges that we face in this country, we still have so much to be thankful for. In our fast paced day, we have so much to do and yet it seems that we have so little time to get everything done. We forget to take time to appreciate those things that have been given to us freely...things like the air we breathe,  or the blessing of waking up to a new day filled with brand new mercies and preordained promises.  Recently I saw a video clip on social media that showed water pouring through the roof of a classroom in a foreign country. As the water poured through the roof on one side of the classroom, the children in that room continued to sit and listen as the teacher was instructing. I thought about students in this country and how fortunate they are to be able to attend  schools that  -while not always in the best conditions- the schools in this country aren't nearly in as bad of condition as the one in the video clip. That's why it's so important that we show young people what being thankful on purpose looks like and sounds like; a failure to do so will continue to produce generations of youth who put more value on material goods and wealth than having an appreciation for humanity. In fact there's an African proverb that says "what a child says, he has heard at home".  A wise person once told me that one of the best ways we can change someone's perspective is when we begin to model thankfulness and gratitude!
Under this week's Intentional Toolkit I have included an article that highlights three ways to cultivate gratitude in the classroom. This article was published by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. They also have a podcast that shares research-tested strategies for a happier, more meaningful life. And speaking of PODCAST...Did you know that there is now an Intentional Instruction Podcast? It's available on Spotify and Anchor FM. As the matter of fact, you can listen to my very first podcast by clicking on: https://anchor.fm/dr-sp-brown. When you have a chance, I hope you'll consider tuning in and listening to an episode.
As always, I hope you find the resources that I've shared useful. So as you're being Thankful on Purpose this week, I hope you have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving! Until next time...go out there and be GREAT!

​greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/three_ways_to_cultivate_gratitude_at_school#.XdmGKnc-iYQ.gmail