Thanksgiving…Black Friday…Cyber Monday…

How ironic that immediately post-Thanksgiving, a day to pause and give thanks for all we have, we are bombarded with ads for, and consequently the drive to, acquire more.

What was more than enough less than 24 hours ago is now somehow not! We. Need. MORE!

As I checked my email, read the news, and scrolled through my Facebook and Instagram feeds this past weekend, I couldn’t help, but be overwhelmed with the amount of advertisements my screen was being inundated with at every click and scroll!

Get it Now! Limited time offer! Best deals of the year!

To which I thought, “What if I don’t get it now?” “What if I miss the offer?” “What if I never see prices as low as these again?”

It is so easy to get sucked in.

I, more than once, found my finger over the “buy now” or “confirm purchase” button on my iPhone 6, but as I thought about the last year of philanthropic work I did and all what we really need in our lives, my stomach turned. Most of us are blessed to have more than we could ever really need (you are probably reading this on a computer or your own iPhone) yet we are so easily convinced to feel we need more.

So, pause for a moment for a reality check. You will be ok! There will be another offer. You will see the low prices again. You don’t really NEED any of it.

So, what do you need? All of those things you were thankful for less than 24 hours before the shopping frenzy began. Things like…family…a hot meal…a roof over your head…a bed to sleep in…health…friends…faith…freedom. Those are the things that you truly NEED in your life.

So, give thanks for all of those people and things that you truly value in your life and as you wrap all of the treasures you “needed” remember to give the greatest gift of all, gratitude. For as William Arthur Ward so brilliantly said, “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”

Yours in Gratitude,

Tracy

Want to take the gift of gratitude one step further? Scrape together those pennies you have left over and celebrate a belated Giving Tuesday by making a donation to an organization that will help those who may not have the abundance you do in your life.

Check out www.4tunate.org and sign up to commit to 4 acts of service each year…one thing every 3 months to help make the world a better, more beautiful place to live! More of a social media guy/gal? Like/follow @be4tunate on social media for inspiration and be a part of the movement by tagging your pictures with #4tunate and #4tunateFriday

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