July 4th and Thanksgiving are our two purely American holidays. It is
easy to understand how July 4th became a national holiday, as it
celebrates our independence, which means our “winning” the war
against the British. People celebrate these types of events and their
triumphs all over the world. In France, it is Bastille Day; and in
Russia, it is May Day. As I like to remind people, “History is
written by the winners.” That is what makes Thanksgiving such
an anomaly. It was begun by a group of individuals who had little for
which to be thankful. They didn’t know if they would survive the coming
winter and were living in less than pleasant conditions. Yet, they chose
to give thanks for whatever they had and to invite others who were
not part of their society to join them. This novel idea somehow caught
on and held through the coming years, spreading throughout our
country. Today, Thanksgiving represents the power of family and friends.
We seem to feel a need to follow this tradition, even to the point of eating
turkey. How unusual it is for everyone to be so in step with each other,
when even Christmas has its “Humbugs.”
We tell our children about the Thanksgiving holiday’s inception;
and even those individuals who normally spend their entire life
complaining, seem to develop a feeling of appreciation on this special
day. This is all wonderful and good, but it perplexes me that this
only occurs once a year. Personally, I never let a day go by that I don’t
acknowledge how thankful I am for my life. Sometimes I say it to others,
but I always think about it myself. When I was younger, I counted my
blessings and gave thanks for them. Now that I’ve survived several cancers,
a few heart problems and a multitude of other health issues, I’ve realized
that life is the ultimate blessing, no matter how difficult it may seem.
When I was a child, my parents instilled in me the image of
someone crying because they had no shoes, until they saw a person with
no feet. I understood that it was not the idea that there is always someone
worse off than you, as it was that, despite someone being worse off than you,
everyone has some reason to be thankful. We need to give thanks, not for
what we have or don’t have, but rather because we exist. Ultimately, I am
thankful for the fact that I am here. Other things are just trimmings for the
turkey. Our blessings are all about us; and we take them for granted, or even
ignore them, but they are there. Even if you can’t see them at the time, they
are there. As they say, “Many a blessing comes in a disguise.” So, join me
and give thanks every day. You will be glad you did.
I’m not myself today and everybody has noticed the improvement 49