Thanksgiving Riches

As we reach the home stretch on our way to the Thanksgiving holiday, after we pull our our trusty elastic pants, head off to the grocery store to collect the makings of our feast, it would behoove us to take a moment, and reflect on what of which we have forgotten to be thankful.

We will complain about the stress of creating a feast, even though it means we have enough food to fill our bellies and probably so much that it will send us into bliss filled food comas on our plush couches in our warm homes. Our sturdily constructed homes deliver us clean water so reliably that the presence of clean water in our lives rarely enters our minds at all. Our families and loved ones have roads to drive on in order to visit us and feel safe enough to travel long distances without fear of being hunted by outlaws, marauders, or fearsome government forces with no concern of the welfare of its people. We are not limited to one set of clothing to serve us no matter the weather; we have different clothing for different occasions, and most of us have clothes sitting in our closet we never wear. We don’t have to make soup of our turkey bones to make our meals stretch just a little bit further, though some of us may do so for a delicious post-Thanksgiving treat. We will have food from different countries, drinks that take years to make, with the utensils and dishes necessary to eat them. Most of us can shake hands and hug someone who comes to our homes without fear of catching polio, or cholera, or any number of other deadly, miserable, communicable diseases. Best of all, besides the pressures to be polite and spare ruffled feathers, we will be allowed to share our feelings, ideas, and thoughts without fear of anything more than a potentially hurt feeling.

In a moment where we may be tempted to complain about our riches, we should take a moment to change into our worst clothing, stand outside in the cold until we are chilled, be weary of strangers, and consider what it would mean to drink the water that flows along the sidewalk after a rain storm. Returning inside will feel warm, the water from the tap will matter, and maybe we would, in that exercise, feel truly thankful.

Hopefully, we would then feel inspired again to do our part to alleviate those feelings in others and take action to stop them.

Happy Thanksgiving