What exactly does it mean to be thankful? Do we just say thank you for tangible gifts—the things we can see and touch? That seems easy enough, we can hold those things, they are real. However, what about the gifts that we can’t see or touch? They are also real, from the heart kind of real!

Let’s take a minute to look at our history of thankfulness. As children, we are taught at an early age to say thank you. We might not yet fully understand the concept of being thankful, but we do figure out that it comes after getting a treat or a present. As we get a bit older, we also learn to say thank you after receiving a compliment.

While we continue to grow, we learn and realize that we have much more to be thankful for besides treats, presents and compliments. Everyday, our family, friends, and often complete strangers, will gift us with encouragement, comfort, conversation, and precious time. These are intangible things, we can hear and feel them inside, but we can’t touch or see them. They are often the most perfect of presents and also deserve our thanks.

Being encouraged is a wonderful feeling. Someone cheers us on when we are striving to reach a particular goal. It’s also wonderful to have someone comfort us when things don’t turn out as we had planned. Everyone has the best and the worst of days. Being encouraged and comforted is important to all of us, at any age. It helps us to keep going, to keep striving and to know that we have a support system during the good and the bad times.

Making conversation and taking time out of our schedules can sometimes be hard. Seriously! Teens and adults are juggling so many commitments and activities. These days, our world seems to move so fast and it’s easy to get caught up in our own lives. We promise ourselves we will call our friends or family to chat or make plans, or maybe we think we will send them a nice card or note. It’s sounds good, and we really do mean it, and then life happens. It’s hard to make time with our time. Everyone has this problem.

However, time and words are great gifts. Again, seriously! Stopping to share conversations, and spending time with family and friends is something that can’t be bought. It’s priceless. We trade our precious time for companionship and fun. Everyone needs a little fun, and we all have times when we just need to talk.

Tangible and intangible presents all deserve a heartfelt thank you. Yet, what is the best way to say thank you?

Giving thanks is truly an individual choice. It’s about who you are, your style of expression, and your creative way of saying thank you. You can say the words, you can send a card, or maybe even give a gift in return.

Not only can we share our thanks and appreciation for tangible and intangible gifts, we can also use our own style and creativity to give both kinds to our family and friends.

Take a moment now and think about the people in your life, whether it’s a family member or a friend. When was the last time you talked or spent time together? Do you have something to thank them for, or something to share?

I do! I want to thank all of my readers and forum members for the time that you give to read my articles, and to post in our forum.

Please stop by sometime this month and say hello. I would also love to hear about a thanks you gave or one that you received!