In Praise Of Thanksgiving

One of my favorite holidays is Thanksgiving. It’s a day set aside so that we, as a nation, can collectively give thanks for the good things in our lives and for the bad things we avoided.

But what exactly does it mean to give thanks? Giving thanks is defined as

the expression of gratitude, or the showing of appreciation. To thank. To acknowledge.

We know what it means to show appreciation, but what does gratitude mean? Gratitude is

the quality of being thankful; a readiness to show appreciation and to return kindness.

For the Roman statesman Cicero, gratitude was the most important virtue a person could have. He wrote

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.

I think Cicero was and still is on the money. Having a mindset of being grateful, makes us kinder and I think gentler people. It helps us to attain what is meant by the term human. We become humane individuals.

Cicero marked out five traits of the ungrateful person. They are

        1. A person who doesn’t thank people, or try to repay favors
        2. A person who takes friendships for granted
        3. A person who forgets about the chain of kind acts and good events which have lead him (or her) to the present 
        4. A person who doesn’t thank God for his (or her) blessings
        5. A person who takes his (or her) country for granted

If we reverse these, we have five traits of the grateful person:

        1. A person who thanks people and repays favors
        2. A person who values friendships and invests in them
        3. A person who reminds himself (or herself) of the chain of kind acts and good events which have brought him (or her) to the present
        4. A person who thanks God for his (or her) blessings
        5. A person who values his (or her) country and invests in its success

I continually ask myself, “Am I a grateful person? Am I someone whose behavior is attractive to others? Am I a good role model?”

Now I have to be honest here: I fail more than I succeed. However, I don’t give up. I keep on training, as it were, so I can be the best person I can be. Just as a pro tennis player or baseball pitcher never stops practicing, or a soldier never stops training. They strive to be better at what they do.

I’m 69 years old. The actuarial tables regarding life expectancy are not as favorable as they were when I was 29. I’m in a race, as it were, to cross the finish line as a better human being than I was previously. But, then, aren’t we all.

There are nearly 8 billion people on this little planet. Valuable and essential resources are in diminishing supply. Technology is not advancing fast enough to address our problems. Therefore, unless we wish to become barbarians, we must embrace gratitude and thankfulness in order to survive.

And that’s what Thanksgiving is all about. It’s about becoming more human by being thankful, gracious, people.

Comments are always welcome. And until next time, happy living!

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Thoughts other than about Turkey

Thanksgiving is quite possibly my favorite holiday. A secular feast day on the theme of giving thanks for all the good things we have.

Being thankful is an important quality in a person’s makeup. We’ve all known people who were ungrateful, who lacked the humility that a spirit of thankfulness gives one.

When I look back over my 67 years, I am struck by the abundance of good things in my life. There were bad things, too, to be sure. But the good things? Well, they were very, very good. And I’d rather dwell on them. I’d rather express my gratitude, my thankfulness, for having those good things in my life.

For that is the kind of person I want to be. One filled with gratitude for the gifts and good things that have been given to me.

When one looks at Nature, one does not see an entitlement mentality anywhere. Nature, while beautiful, is often uncaring and cruel. Nothing in Nature is entitled to anything. It must all be earned.

Therefore, if I get something — I’m thankful. Thankfulness enables me to appreciate what I have. Which leads to a life of contentment. And being contented is a good thing.

So on this coming Thanksgiving Day in 2019, I encourage you to take time to ponder and wonder at all of the good things that are in your life. No matter how few or small they may be.

Express your thanks for them and be grateful that you have or had those good things.

Life is what you make it, because the quality of our existence is in our minds. So make life good, and be a person of thankfulness and gratitude.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time — happy living!

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Be Thankful

This Thursday, just two days away, here in the US, we will celebrate Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving and am sad to see it become a lost holiday. What with Christmas shopping being pushed earlier and earlier — why Black Friday deals are already being advertised — and the day itself morphing into Turkey Day — the whole point of a day devoted to being thankful is pretty much lost.

The beauty of Thanksgiving is, in my opinion, that it is a secular holiday devoted to giving thanks for the good things that we have. And especially here in the States we have a lots of good things for which we can be thankful.

It’s easy to piss and moan. We humans are natural complainers. It’s much more difficult to be thankful.

I love America. It’s the best place to live. Sure, we have problems. Nevertheless, we also have a surfeit of blessings. Good things abound in the United States. And I have been blessed richly and abundantly.

So this Thursday, all you here in the States, don’t worship the turkey. The day isn’t Turkey Day. It’s Thanksgiving. A secular holiday set aside so we can count our many, many blessings — wherever they come from.

‘Tis true I’ll feast on a turkey. But what I’m really thankful for is not the turkey but that I have plenty of food and the money to buy more. I’m rich, even though I’m not. Which is the blessing I’m most thankful for.

Be thankful. It’s the best feeling. Right there with being happy.

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