Earlier this year, my dear friend Kayla at Rosie’s Boutique published a blog, and I honestly don’t remember all of what it was about, but she made the statement that she would “never not be grateful.” I have internalized that statement over the months since reading it.

Being grateful is somehow different than never not being so. Saying a quick thank you is easy when obviously deserved, but a posture of being grateful all of the time is a different and much harder thing.

We have a lot to be grateful for over the past year – you, our customers, have held in there with us, the team is solid and committed, and our new factory in Haiti is finally open. But along the way, there was a lot to be discouraged by. There were times we worried, times we grieved, and times we were tired or embarrassed. But, throughout, we made the decision to never not be grateful.

If you’re wondering why it matters, I can give you my thoughts, but I hope you’ll reflect during this season of Thanksgiving and come up with some of your own.

Gratitude, by nature, puts us in a posture of humility and considering others. Saying, "Thank You," encourages and uplifts others. Expressing thanks tells the other person that you value and respect them, that they have something of value to offer. How much better would our world be if we committed to a continual posture of gratitude for those around us – for any smile or kind word or held door another person offers? I don’t know about you, but I move fast, and things can happen around me in a blur – try to see those things and be grateful for little acts of human kindness.

Gratitude reminds us that we need one another. At GOEX and GO Project, we believe in the power of Community as well as Commerce to strengthen and empower families. While we work to create fair wage jobs, we cannot sustain them without the amazing community of our customers who make this work possible – for you, we are always grateful! But more than that, we all need people around us. You don’t need me to remind you that we live in a hyper-connected but incredibly lonely world. Look someone in the eyes today and offer a smile and tell them thank you. I promise you’ll both feel better!

Gratitude for what you have is so much better than a longing for what you don’t have. In challenging times, the ability to look around and recognize that someone else will always have more and someone else will always have less will give perspective and give you the opportunity to take a deep breath and find at least a moment of contentment. This is something my family is leaning into right now. Determine what’s really important, plan for that, and release the rest. Take the pressure off. Be grateful for a sunset, for a walk outside, for a cup of tea by a fire, or a good library book. Take a break from wanting all the things Instagram says you should want. Find joy in the little things. Practice generosity from what you save. And be grateful that you could.

I know we’re all fighting our battles and things are not calm or easy right now, but I encourage you, take a posture of gratitude in this season. That you can control! And then tell us about it! We would love to hear how you practice gratitude – send us a note at hello@goex.org. A real person will read it and share it with our team. And we’ll send back a note of thanks!

Enjoy your time with your families this week! And thank you for taking the time to indulge my thoughts.

With gratitude and respect,

Jessica
Executive Director, GOEX