Words of Thanksgiving

     Oh sigh. It's that time of year again. That time to express our gratitude for all that we have. Whether it's everything we want or not, we are grateful. We are grateful for family no matter how crazy they are. We are grateful for the material possessions we have because they bring us convenience and comfort. We are grateful for our jobs because we are not homeless and hungry even if that job doesn't satisfy us completely or make us rich. We are grateful for our health because even if we don't feel 100%, we are still breathing and opening our eyes every day. We are grateful. Whether you are grateful to God or some other entity you worship (for the record, I am grateful to God only), we take time to reflect on the current state of our lives.
     Since this is a communications blog, we should take time this Thanksgiving to say to God and anyone else we're grateful to that we appreciate them. Thank your family and friends. Thank your boss and your coworkers. Thank anyone who you know has helped you at some point this year. Let them know that you are not taking them for granted. Words are powerful ointments for the soul. You may be a soothing balm to someone who needs to feel appreciated today. As the hustle and bustle of holiday time starts taking on that crazy life of its own, stop the whiplash movements of the season to say a kind word to someone. Tell someone that you forgive them for some past wrong. Ask someone for forgiveness for some past wrong you have committed. Tell someone you've been trying to connect with for awhile that you are putting that precious time on your calendar right now and mean it.
     In a world filled with hateful, critical, and judgmental speech, take time to re-evaluate how you come across. Think about how much more inspiring you can be to others, and exercise your ability to be kind through words of encouragement and love. Happy Thanksgiving and I appreciate you for supporting and reading this blog.

Comments

How to Talk About Race: A Panel Discussion

When Your "Jokes" Get You in Trouble

Everybody loves a good laugh. We feel better when we hear something funny and our anxiety or pain is eased because humor has come as a balm in a tense day. Laughter is beneficial to our emotional and physical health. Well-placed humor works easily in a lot of ways when we are telling stories, but can also come at a huge cost. If we joke about a topic that is sensitive to many, and we do it in a public forum where our intent can be misconstrued by the audience, then we can create a firestorm of frustration for ourselves and them. A recent example of a humor faux pas involves rapper T.I. and his comments regarding how he checks for his daughter's virginity. He claimed in a podcast that when his 18-year-old daughter goes to the gynecologist, he tells the doctor to check her hymen to make sure it's still intact--an indication that she is still a virgin. Though this is not an accurate test of virginity, T.I. says he told the doctor: "...just check the hymen

How to Stop Interruptions in Conversations

So you're sitting in a meeting, and you begin to answer a question that has been directed toward you by your boss. You get through about half of your response when a colleague jumps in and offers his take and essentially silences you. There is evidence that if you are a woman, this will happen to you more often than if you are a man, and it's likely to happen to you by both genders. Interruptions in communications like this happen all the time whether you're in a group offering your opinion or one-on-one sharing a story. Regardless of the setting, we all find it annoying and rude. These disruptions of dialogue hamper thought processes, contribute to misunderstandings, and devalue people's input. So what do we do when they keep happening to us? A few worthy suggestions can be found in Kathryn Vasel's article, "Next time someone interrupts you in a meeting, try this" . But what if you're the one doing the interrupting? I'

Talk Ain't Cheap

Search This Blog