You know what day it is! If I don't get to send out any other emails, I do my best to send out the "Thankful Thursday" email. With all of the uncertainty and chaos occuring near and far it is important that we make time to express gratitude. Typically, I ask you to give gratitude for the people and things in your life. This Thursday, I am challenging you to be thankful for life itself which includes your life and all life that surrounds you.

The most gracious act you can do when receiving a gift is to say "thank you" and the most respectful thing can do is not to waste it. When I was a child, whenever an adult gave me a monetary gift, I was told not to waste it. If the gift was clothing, I was told to make sure I took care it. In every instance, I was always told to say, "thank you" and scolded if I failed to do so even if I did not like the gift. I was being taught to be thankful and appreciative.

You have the ultimate gift. Be thankful and appreciative and mostly importantly do not waste it. We all have our perspective of a "wasted life". Some think a free-spirit individual who does not want to adhere to societal norms is a wasted life while others may think spending a life adhering to societal norms is a wasted life. What matters is how you feel about your life? Are you living your life in a manner that brings you joy and a sense of purpose or do you feel you are going through the motions each day?

To appreciate the gift of life, live it as much as you can doing things that are meaningful and enjoyable to you. Don't worry about being "good" at doing them just enjoy the experience of being able to do them. Do things that make you feel alive in the moment and will create memories that will make you smile or make you laugh at yourself. When I was in college in an attempt to offset the stiffness from weight lifting, I took ballet lessons. I blame Lynn Swann, the former NFL allstar player for making that decision...I am just thankful it was not the era of social media! The memory still makes me laugh at myself. I stepped outside of my comfort zone which I've continued to doing since then. Now, some memories may make you cringe but such is life.

Your intent is not to waste your gift doing nothing but to live life fully so that you may experience as much of it as possible.