Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I am grateful for my own family that will gather in Iowa tomorrow for Thanksgiving, and grateful for Darcy's family, whom we will gather with in South Dakota. And I am thinking of all those in each of our families that live far and wide.

I am also grateful that a friend and fellow BC patient got good news after some appointments and tests.

If you have read anything here on "Habitual Gratitude" you know I believe that every day is a day for giving thanks. But it is nice that we honor the idea of gratitude with a special holiday. Thanksgiving became an official holiday during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, in 1863, at the height of the Civil War. Lincoln asked war-torn, grief-stricken, and weary Americans to pull together, persevere, and be grateful for the gifts of the previous year. That request still rings true, even if the times aren't as bleak as 1863.

I work at a Catholic school and we had a Thanksgiving mass yesterday. Our school's president addressed all students and staff in attendance before the mass began. She gave us all an assignment for over the long weekend. That assignment: give a handwritten thank you to someone. I love the idea and I love that she put it out there to hundreds of 7th-12th graders and dozens of faculty and staff. I know the value of putting pen to paper. I hope many do the assignment and realize the power of gratitude shared.

A couple of other random thoughts before I close:

*At the checkout line at a store on Sunday, as we wrapped up my transaction, the cashier asked if I had any big shopping plans for Black Friday. I said no, I'm not a big shopper. But then I said have a Happy Thanksgiving and left. It struck me as odd that she skipped over the holiday and asked me about Black Friday. (She does work in retail, so that is on her mind I guess.) It was an example of what is happening more and more-it's all about the commercialization and marketing. What about even a little pause for some reflection on gratitude? (Getting off my soapbox now.)

*I spent several Thanksgiving eves in my younger days, my drinking days, partying it up. Particularly when we were in college and just out of college. Friends would come home for the holiday and we would gather at one of our local bars. I would get drunk, because invariably that is what I did. The place would be packed and we would have a good time catching up. I would be hungover on Thanksgiving, but that didn't stop me from eating. Darcy likes to have some wine and a cigar for the holiday, and we had our Thanksgiving meal on Sunday so out came the wine and cigars. I still like the smell of cigarettes and cigars. I got a little craving. But it passed. And I return to the deep gratitude I have for finding recovery and the support I have in my recovery, including Darcy's. (He has a beer or two or a couple glasses of wine, then he says he's full. He's definitely a normal drinker.)
If not for recovery, my life's trajectory would have taken a much different path, and I maybe wouldn't even be alive to be blogging about gratitude.

I will be taking a blog break until Sunday, but I won't be taking a break from practicing gratitude.

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the little things and enjoy your loved ones.

Comments

  1. Happy Thanksgiving!
    It would be easy to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. But that would seem superficial given all the suffering in this world. Hunger, poverty, homelessness, unrest in the Middle East, and the destruction of Hurricane Sandy…we could go on and on.

    But we believe that no matter our circumstances each and every one of us has something to be thankful for…something to hang on to no matter how difficult things might seem.

    It might be something as small as the grip of an infant upon our finger or a warm smile from a total stranger. Or it might be something as momentous as news that cancer is in remission. There is always something that keeps us going…something to be thankful for.

    So let us give thanks for that “something”… that wonderful “something” that brightens our lives and helps us through the day. God Bless you

    Please this Thanksgiving and Christmas help a Christian family. Check it out on Indiegogo at http://www.indiegogo.com/zahidfamily?a=1785892&i=emal or click on my name and don't forget to share this on your Facebook and twitter profiles.

    God Bless you

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  2. Thank you for commenting Majid and for your eloquent words. Your words remind me of a quote by Buddha:

    "Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so let us all be thankful." (Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama)

    There is indeed always something to be grateful for, and so often it is the little things.

    As I looked at your profile, I appreciated the line "Here to make a difference." That is my goal too. Good luck in your endeavors.
    Peace.

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