THANKSGIVING 2017

Gratitude is a mark of spiritual maturity, often learned as a consequence of its opposite practice.  When we live in a state of expectation, entitlement, and ingratitude, we may chase away people and opportunities which would otherwise be ours.  Shaping our future can then become more difficult, as we feel alone and disconnected.

Americans set aside a day each year to think about the things for which we are grateful.  If we are lucky enough to spend that day in the company of spiritually mature people, and if we show them an attitude of ingratitude, we are more likely to be awakened to the chasm between us… in our actions and reactions, in our speech patterns, and in our perspective on everything around us.  They seem to be in a perennial state of happiness, and nothing negative seems to be able to permeate the positive shield around them.  We may react before really trying to understand the state in which they live, and from which they navigate the world.  We may hastily and mindlessly categorize them as “Pollyanish,” “unrealistic,” or just plain lucky to live in a world without pain or rejection.  But as our day together wears on, and we are equally and simultaneously faced with topics of conversation which may be considered controversial or subject to debate, it should become clear that their positive attitude is not borne of privilege, because this topic is new and fresh to us all.  It is not a result of their seeing the subject through rose-colored glasses, because they are obviously hearing the negative side of the debate at the same time and in the same way as we are.  And yet they are able to fashion their hopeful viewpoint in the broad light of day… clearly a different day than any we can conjure.

It would follow that we could take this moment as an opportunity for self-discernment.  Are we able to turn our perspective inside out and see the subject matter from a more positive, if not totally Utopian, vantage point?  And if we are able to budge off our knoll of unfriendly opposition, can we open to the feeling which comes over us like a wave of relief? 

Confucius famously said “It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.”   Perhaps he came full circle in his own life to experience this epiphany first-hand.  It is, after all, so much easier to find goodness than to seek evil, to enjoy the best in each other than to look for and point out our differences, and to live in kindness rather than to play “gotcha” at every possible opportunity.  Living is good when it is filled with goodness, and goodness is there to be seen and embraced, if only we don’t allow it to be crowded out with such energy-draining attitudes as resentment, bitterness, sarcasm and anger. 

Does gratitude make sense as a way forward to a happier life?  If it really makes sense to you that it might, on this Thanksgiving, find a positive person and start a conversation… and if gratitude suddenly finds a way into your heart, let it flow.  Memories of wonderful times spent in this wonderful world may well push out the angry antiques cluttering your sadness-filled attic.  This Thanksgiving may be the day that your “new normal” of living in gratitude begins.