Living Appreciation

Living Appreciation – how is this possible in our busy day to day lives?

As Americans prepare to gather on the 4th Thursday of November for Thanksgiving, it is an opportunity to express thanks for all we enjoy in this country.  Upon reflecting upon living appreciation, this article “popped” up in my reading file.  The concept of critical thinking was taught to me from a young age.  How may we improve upon our life experience and commit to life-long practices of self-improvement?  Might we ponder this as we wake up each morning and begin the day?  Here’s to the possibility of taking a moment and feeling appreciation each and every day.

Linda Elder, wrote in September, 2007

“Critical thinking is self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way.   People who think critically consistently attempt to live rationally, reasonably, empathically.    They are keenly aware of the inherently flawed nature of human thinking when left unchecked.   They strive to diminish the power of their egocentric and sociocentric tendencies.   They use the intellectual tools that critical thinking offers – concepts and principles that enable them to analyze, assess, and improve thinking.   They work diligently to develop the intellectual virtues of intellectual integrity, intellectual humility, intellectual civility, intellectual empathy, intellectual sense of justice and confidence in reason.   They realize that no matter how skilled they are as thinkers, they can always improve their reasoning abilities and they will at times fall prey to mistakes in reasoning, human irrationality, prejudices, biases, distortions, uncritically accepted social rules and taboos, self-interest, and vested interest.   They strive to improve the world in whatever ways they can and contribute to a more rational, civilized society.    At the same time, they recognize the complexities often inherent in doing so.   They avoid thinking simplistically about complicated issues and strive to appropriately consider the rights and needs of relevant others.   They recognize the complexities in developing as thinkers, and commit themselves to life-long practice toward self-improvement.   They embody the Socratic principle:   The unexamined life is not worth living , because they realize that many unexamined lives together result in an uncritical, unjust, dangerous world.” ~

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.  Thanks for being a part of the community.–Lynn