[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n
While I didn’t grow up with the Thanksgiving holiday in Australia, I’ve come to treasure this American tradition dedicated to practicing gratitude in a world that constantly pulls our attention toward what’s missing.<\/p>\n
Whenever I think about what gratitude truly means, I think of what my dad has taught me.<\/p>\n
My dad spent much of his childhood living in the shed you can see in the image above. No sanitation. No electricity. No running water. No floor. He and his brother (my Uncle Bob) slept on hammocks made from potato sacks hanging from the rafters (handy for a high tide). He didn’t own shoes until he was 12 and later spent 50 years milking cows to make ends meet as he raised his seven children (of which I was big sister). <\/span><\/p>\n Needless to say, Dad has weathered more than his share of hardships and heartache over the years. He\u2019s endured brutal droughts. He\u2019s grieved the loss of his youngest son, my brother Peter, after his long battle with schizophrenia. He\u2019s supported his eldest son, Frank, as he learned to navigate life with paraplegia. And most recently, he\u2019s had to say goodbye to his beloved wife of 56 years \u2014 my mum \u2014 to the brutal fog of dementia.<\/p>\n In August this year, I had the joy of taking dad on a cross-country train trip across Australia to celebrate his 90th birthday. Whether sitting in our cabin staring out the train window at the red parched earth or reflecting on our day over dinner, time and time again he would take my hand and say, “Oh Margie, this is the trip of a lifetime!” <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-27px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” link_option_url_new_window=”on” sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/margiewarrell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/LinkedIn-Newsletter-Banner.jpg” title_text=”LinkedIn Newsletter Banner” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||-25px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” url=”https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/margiewarrell_nevertoooldforadventure-activity-7360132710159294464-5r8P?utm_source=social_share_send&utm_medium=member_desktop_web&rcm=ACoAAABveQQBF-JZRIEpP1XFhHXCs4slvSCDMI8″ sticky_enabled=”0″ url_new_window=”on”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n Every time he did, he made me present to the gift of that time together and the gift of life itself. My own. My dad’s. Everyones. Dad’s outward expression of gratitude is my dad through and through. As he has said countless times throughout the years, “I feel like the richest man in all the world.” And he doesn’t just say it, he truly means it. He embodies it.<\/p>\n And it’s got nothing to do with his monetary wealth. In fact, he’s never had a lot of it. Dad’s sense of wealth has never been in a stock portfolio (the only stock he ever had were his herd of dairy cattle!) but in the love he’s generously given and received, and in his daily expressions of gratitude for what <\/span>is<\/em>, rather than lamenting what <\/span>isn’t<\/em>. <\/span><\/p>\n Dad taught me that gratitude isn\u2019t something you practice only when life is going your way\u2014when the job comes through, the illness lifts, or long-prayed-for rain finally falls. It\u2019s a discipline for all seasons. The more we practice it, the more it bolsters our resilience and buoys our spirits to rise above the waves when life\u2019s storms roll in. (If you haven\u2019t one lately, it’s coming.)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Here’s the thing about gratitude that research confirms and lived experience proves: <\/span><\/p>\n What we appreciate, appreciates.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n When we focus our attention on what we’re grateful for, it doesn’t just make us feel better in the moment\u2014it actually expands. Our relationships deepen. Our joy multiplies. Our capacity to meet life’s inevitable challenges grows larger and our ability to find the good even in the hardest of circumstances grows deeper.<\/p>\n In a world that pummels us 24\/7 with reasons to feel anxious, inadequate, or \u2018left behind,\u2019 it\u2019s all too easy to fixate on what\u2019s wrong, who\u2019s to blame, or how life <\/span>should<\/em> <\/span>be different than it is. Our brains are wired for this \u2018negativity bias’ which kept our ancestors alive by constantly scanning for threats. But in today’s world, that same wiring can hold us captive to scarcity thinking, living in a perpetual state of ‘not enough’, always chasing the next thing while missing the beauty and abundance that\u2019s right in front of us. Or at least not appreciating it fully. I’m as guilty of falling into this trap as anyone. <\/span><\/p>\n This isn’t about denying hard realities. Rather it’s about intentionally placing our attention on <\/span><\/strong>what’s good and what’s<\/em><\/strong> <\/span><\/strong>right<\/em><\/strong>. Doing so expands our capacity – mental, emotional, physical and spiritual – to meet our challenges better and to emerge as better humans.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n This has been my personal truth again and again\u2014especially in my toughest seasons, when my expectations and hopes collided head-on with a reality I didn\u2019t want or wasn\u2019t prepared for. In those moments when the world has felt like it\u2019s falling apart, I\u2019ve slipped into what I call an <\/span>un-gratitude<\/em> <\/span>state\u2026 feeling angry at life or sorry for myself.<\/p>\n And so this is my wish and prayer for you in this Thanksgiving week:<\/p>\n ~ To pause long enough to really see your blessings \u2014 you have many, even if some are hiding in plain sight.<\/strong><\/p>\n ~ To look for the gifts and goodness in the people around you, rather than focusing on how you wish they were different.<\/strong><\/p>\n ~ And to recognize that the \u201cordinary\u201d moments of your life \u2014 your health, your morning coffee, a hug from your kids, a friend who checks in \u2014 are, in truth, the really big things.<\/strong><\/p>\n