We live in a world where we have many possessions; we have cars, houses, computers, smartphones and many other things.
We also have rights: free education, freedom of expression and belief,
somewhere to live and many others. Many of these do not require any effort.
The wealth that enables us to buy our possessions and the freedoms that we enjoy are not things that have occurred suddenly, they have built up over centuries. We owe a lot to the Britons who lived and worked in previous centuries, building up the wealth of the country and fighting for the freedoms we currently enjoy.
In my opinion, we should feel grateful for all the efforts put in by previous generations to build Britain into the country it is today.
I am a Christian, so I feel thankful to God for everything that we enjoy today.
We have so much to be thankful for: health, we live much longer now, living in a stable democracy, being able to walk in the streets of our town and feel safe and having decent programmes on the TV every night.
How can we express this gratitude?
We can appreciate everything much more. There are some people that we do show appreciation for, in the form of tips, including waiters and taxi drivers.
There are many more people that we depend upon for our modern conveniences.
Showing appreciation is win-win, it is good for the appreciated person as they are complemented and gain self-esteem and also are more likely to remember the person who complimented them the next time they meet.
It is also good for the one who compliments as it makes them look outside themselves and makes a good impression on those who hear the compliment, improving relationships for the future.
Geoff Peck is a member of Woosehill Church, writing on behalf of Churches Together Wokingham