Give Thanks: Gratitude to the Rescue

                             

     During our Thanksgiving meal we have a tradition of going around the table to say what we are thankful for.  This is sometimes a nervous moment with thoughts of not knowing what to say, how to express it or not really feeling thankful. About a month before Thanksgiving we were gathered in the backyard for breakfast and someone (I will not mention his name) suggested we replace this tradition with something that ticked us off.  Our dark Irish humor took hold and the banter went on with people upping the ante by proposing we pick out someone at the table that annoyed us, and finally the suggestion that it be an ritual where we pick a name out of a hat, secret Santa style, and then people had to guess who you were describing.  Although this idea was of course scraped, we do play games in the library after dinner that always include Taboo or Pictionary where we laugh at each other.

       Thoughts of what I am thankful for have been swirling around in my brain much like the soon to arrive “visions of sugarplums” dancing in my head.  There is much that I love about the holidays. I love fall weather (which in my world means I might need a sweater when the sun goes down) and the view from my office includes some liquid amber trees that are flaming.  I love pumpkins, Day of the Dead celebrations, harvest décor, the family gathering at Thanksgiving and my all time favorite – the Christmas tree.  There are some in my family who are not too fond of the holiday season.  It doesn’t matter if it is from childhood holiday disappointment, a current life situation or a physical or emotional difficulty, the holidays can certainly intensify your anxiety level.

       This is where gratitude comes to the rescue.  Gratitude is the antidote to discontent.  It puts the focus on what you do have, what is right in your world.  As author and commentator Dennis Prager says, “happiness is a choice” and it often starts with focusing on the good things in your life.  So often we just take the blessings for granted, and it’s not until we lose something that we realize we how much we had.  

       The real enemy of gratitude is envy.  Why is it that the mind usually goes to the people who have more than us when we are comparing lives?  There is a line in a novel by Maurice Druon set in the 13^th century that struck me as very applicable to today’s zeitgeist: “Of course people complained, but not so much of being destitute as of being unable to satisfy all their desires.  People complained of being less rich than the richest, of having less than those who had everything.”   Yesterday I saw a video online of a child in another country from a family of little means.  He was opening a present and it was a small cutting board.  He was so sweet and said how much he would enjoy using it when he helped chopped food for meals.  Then his parents handed him another gift.  They had saved to buy him an electronic tablet.  He had no idea and when he opened it he was in awe and couldn’t stop crying, smiling and thanking them.  Gratitude is not about how much you have; it is about whether you appreciate what you do have. 

       I want to make sure, as I spend each precious day, that I remember this, so I have added an evening prayer of thanksgiving:

God, Thank You for another day.

For every breath I take, 

For the steady beating of my heart.

Thank You for the love of family and friends, 

The joy of animals and the beauty of nature.

I am thankful for the willingness to seek self-understanding,
And the courage to look at my shortcomings.

I am grateful for food to ease my hunger,
And health that lets me stay active.

Thank You for the roof over my head
And a warm bed to rest my body.

Thank You for sleep when it comes,
And the gift of prayer when it doesn’t.


“I love you, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
My God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

Psalm 18

                            

Chickens give thanks for mealworm feast!