As we start the week of Thanksgiving, we should make a conscious effort to be thankful every day of our lives. I think it is essential that we put things in perspective. Now that my father is gone, and my mother is getting older, the holiday means more to me now than ever. This year, someone won’t be at the table that was at the table last year. Next year, someone else will transition. That is why it is important that we spend the time that we have now, with the ones we love. For tomorrow is not promised to any of us, but the hours are getting shorter for all of us.
Too often, we treat gratitude as a holiday ornament that we pull from the garage when we’re ready to decorate the tree. And after the festivities are over, we pack it away and get back to the daily grind of life. Let's be mindful not to be so busy looking to the past, that we forget what is right here in the now. Thus, let us be thankful to this life that we are living right now. Here are a few thoughts that I have about the holidays.
First, we all have something to be thankful for, and sometimes we have to remind ourselves of the many reasons we have to be grateful. We should all take some time this week and come up with a gratitude list and find ten things that we are thankful for.
Second, my parents live for the holidays, and my mother still lives for the holiday. Nothing is more important to her then to have the family in one place, sitting at the table, laughing and lying. You know all those stories we embellish, and both of my parents loved to feed people. I always feel that my mother prepares way too much food, and more food leaves in those plastic containers, with people, then they eat at the table. But I stop auguring with her about it, because this makes her happy, and after all, it is not about me, it is about her.
Finally, let this be a time when we can set aside our pettiness, disagreements, difference, and unforgiveness. And, come together in peace and love and remember that we must put things in perspective, and understand that all of that stuff is small stuff, in the grand scheme of things. In the end, all those things will get lost in the love, in the laughs, and in the soul food. My parents taught me that family means more than our indifferences.
I have so much to be thankful for. Today, I’m aware of the fact that life is better than I deserve. I am not lucky nor am I fortunate, but I am blessed, and I am expected to do something with the grace that I have been given. I am blessed to bless. I am gifted to give.
So, no matter what happens in life, we can find a reason to be thankful, even when the circumstance of life stinks, we still have so much to be grateful for. If we look deep within we will find it.