It’s Thanksgiving week and I have been contemplating how most Americans appear to have lost the ability to be thankful. Currently, thankfulness and gratitude play a very small part in our celebration of what the founders of this country were very aware of, that as a nation, we are truly blessed. We live in a country that has an abundance of natural resources we have yet to deplete. More importantly, we were gifted by our forefathers with a constitution that ensures us life and liberty; a promise that still appeals to those who are impoverished and persecuted throughout the world.The very thing we fail to remember is what still draws people to this nation’s shores. They do not come for our black Friday sales or holiday celebrations where we stuff ourselves with unhealthy food while we watch a bunch of ungrateful college athletes try to prove how noble they are by not standing for the national anthem.
Yes, our country has its problems, but they are problems that are out in the open not hidden as in a lot of countries where voices are silenced and the poor and persecuted have no recourse.
We are privileged, yet we act as if we’re disadvantaged. We have been blessed beyond measure. Our lives should be full, yet we think they are empty. We are a country full of people who feel they are innocent, poorly treated, maligned, and disrespected, yet we have more opportunities to achieve our dreams than any other place on the globe.
What is the solution to all the negative self-centeredness? It is certainly not something that the politicians can correct. They are no different than the rest of us. Most of them are living in the same denial that we are. They are misunderstood. It is not their fault. The world, or in their view, the press, is against them. The press may be negative, social media may be negative, but the way we feel about the world does not have to be. We can be the change agent that changes how we view the world and in turn that attitude can change the world. It begins with us.
It begins with the realization of how full our lives are as Americans. It begins with being thankful, not just in words, but in deeds. When was the last time you thanked someone for holding the door open for you at Walmart? When was the last time you sent a hand written thank you note? When was the last time you gave back out of gratitude for how much you have been given? When was the last time you sought our someone less fortunate than yourself to share of the bounty you have been given? When was the last time you looked around and realized just how blessed you are?
Our Thanksgiving celebrations have grown smaller through the years. Many of the older family members, who lived through direr times have passed on, but the memories remain. I still picture my grandmothers small house; all four rooms. I can feel the chill in the two bedrooms that were always kept closed to keep the heat from the two wood or coal burning stoves in the parlor and kitchen. There was no dining room, no dining table, yet the best Thanksgivings of my life were spent in that house, crowded with aunts, uncles, and cousins. The food was straight from the barn yard or cellar and better than any I’ve had since. There was no tv, but there was laughter, joking and a lot of love.
So many of us have abandoned our families. Not intentionally, but jobs and opportunities have caused us to leave them behind. We’ve left the comfort that comes from being surrounded by those we love for material wealth and prosperity, when true prosperity comes from being surrounded by those we love and who love us in return.
Two weeks ago, we were blessed to be in Boston with my husband’s family. One night we celebrated my husband’s birthday with all of the brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews. It was in a sense an early Thanksgiving. We ate good food while we laughed and shared stories. We tried to make up for all the years spent apart. The night was too short, but the memories remain, and we are extremely grateful for the opportunity to be surrounded by those we love if for only a brief moment in time.
Very few of us are totally without family, and even fewer are without someone to care for. This holiday season if you can’t be surrounded by family, paraphrasing an old song, if you can’t be with the ones you love, love the ones you’re with. Love them and be thankful!