What happened to Thanksgiving?
Last week was Thanksgiving. A day to give thanks, be home with family and enjoy a good meal. For most that is. Some gave thanks by showing up to a shelter and feeding the less fortunate. I really respect those folks. Something different about them. They understand what it means to share, to have real gratitude. Have you ever done it? I haven’t but I always tell myself one year I should. I think it would give me a much better perspective on how good my life is. And a better appreciation for Thanksgiving because I feel like society has kind of lost its way with respect to gratitude. It is one day (ONE DAY!) to stop and give thanks and I just don’t think most people do anymore. For most, it’s just a glorified Sunday on a Thursday. Let me explain.
Do you know what the biggest drinking day of the year is? That’s right, the night before Thanksgiving (Drinksgiving). Do you know what day Black Friday starts for some stores? That’s right, on Thanksgiving (Black Thursday?). How many football games are there on Thanksgiving now? Three. That means you can potentially ignore your family from 9 am to almost 8 pm. And what about shopping? Stores have their entire Christmas stock up and ready before even Halloween is concluded. Thanksgiving movies? Nope. Christmas movies in November. How many neighbors already have their Christmas lights and decorations up? Quite a few. We also have people who skip Thanksgiving because they feel the historical context of settlers and Native Americans is “messed up” and are boycotting it as a result. No matter how we put this all together, it sure seems like everyone is missing the real reason for Thanksgiving: gratitude.
I recently went on a backpacking trip for a few days. Just me (and a few friends), some modest supplies, and a lot of miles. A storm came through and made it lightly snow, temps below 30 F at night, and no campfire allowed. Slept on the rocky ground. Ate my dinner out of a can. Drank water from a lake. Had to get up in the middle of the night to pee and tripped over a bush in the dark. And it was great. Really great. Why? No technology. No comforts of home. Just basic needs met. Hard conditions. And what did I think about while shivering in my sleeping bag? Gratitude. It takes something like a backpacking trip to remember how great your life is. Which is why I recommend it for anyone who is struggling with depression or feeling down about their life. Go get back to basics and learn to appreciate the little things. A great reset. Everyone should do it at least once a year in my opinion.
You see, that is what Thanksgiving is supposed to be. It doesn’t matter about historical contexts or your annoying in-laws or your favorite football team losing. It’s not about dry turkey, getting drunk, or the mad dash to start Christmas. It is supposed to be a day to slow down and put aside all the rat race stuff we slog through every day. Just stop and appreciate what you have accomplished, what you have at the moment, and what you have to look forward to. A day to NOT go go go. Why is that so hard for people to do?
When you boil it down, there is no money to be made in giving thanks. There is no way to exploit gratitude. Movies are boring and don’t have enough action. You don’t make themed drinks based on gratitude. People going out and helping others isn’t creating division. There are no breaking stories if people are happy with what they have and not misbehaving. No envy of others if you are content with what you have been given. No anger or malice that social media can explode on. It would just be a day of peace, across the whole world where everyone stopped with all the nonsense and just reflected. So, they want you to skip it. They cannot control you if you are content and appreciative. You realize that, right?
No matter how bad things are, you are alive. The infamous statement “If you were offered $100 million right now but tomorrow you would not wake up, would you take it?” Most would say no. And what that means is your life, your ability to wake up in the morning, is worth more than $100 million. Let that sink in because I am pretty sure you aren’t living your life with that perspective. Maybe, just maybe, you could take tomorrow and dwell on that very idea. I woke up today. I got this far in life. There is so much I can still do. How grateful am I to make it this far? I also believe that like Thanksgiving, we should practice gratitude each and every day.
So during the holidays, don't get caught up in the race, and don’t be in a rush. Don’t get caught up in the food prep, the drama, the mindless football games, or the shopping. Don’t overlook the opportunity you have been given. To give thanks. Do you know why? Not everyone gets to wake up tomorrow. So, take it easy out there, slow down, enjoy each day like it's Thanksgiving, and let’s all appreciate the opportunity to give thanks and have gratitude, together.
