Being Truly Thankful

You will have to make a gargantuan effort in two ways to be thankful today, Thanksgiving 2009. The past 12 months have been an absolute disaster for so many that you have to somehow block it out for 24 hours. The economy has been on the precipice all year. One out of every 8 people is unemployed, friends are losing their homes, and more of us live paycheck to paycheck. There have been divorces and deaths also, like any other year.  Cars have broken down, you may have fought with a friend, and your favorite person may not have won American Idol. No, it won’t be easy to build a temporary wall around all of this.

To truly be able to give thanks today, the effort needs to be made with your day to day life. Shut the computer down. Being on the Internet, surfing the web, Facebook and MySpace, is quickly turning us into a country of 300 million independent pods with an ever diminishing ability to interact face to face. Turn off the television. There is a reason why it used to be called the idiot box. It also foments our materialism and superficiality. Today, a Kardashian is hailed a hero, Lambert's lambasting helps him become richer, and reality shows are not really all that real. Who cares who will be the next top model or who lost the most amount of weight? Too bad family time can't be DVR'd. Put the cell phone away.  Our always on society with text messages, emails and games, interrupts your ability to focus for more than 30 seconds on anything.

Blocking out the difficulty of 2009 and stepping out of your technology inspired life for just a day will permit you to start noticing things for which to be thankful.

If you have someone to share a meal with today, appreciate it. Some weeks ago I was out to dinner and observed an elderly woman all by herself with just a magazine and magnifying glass to keep her company. She looked around every once in a while and smiled at different tables. No one seemed to notice. My father once told me that loneliness is the worst disease. Her eyes confirmed that.

In your mind, say thank you to the Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard. You may or may not approve of our current wars. Yet one thing is certain. These men and women have sacrificed more than you or I ever have and ever will. Today will be a long and lonely day for many of them.

Maybe you are lucky enough to live where birds sing. If you are and you hear a bird sing, stop for ten seconds. Listen to its songs. Look for the bird. Don't be envious because his is a simple life.

Sit with your dog for ten minutes. Give him a treat, pet him and talk to him. How great is it to have a true friend that would never leave your side, for anything? The loyalty and dedication of a dog is unequaled in our world. Their lives are too short.

Remember your parents. You may be with them or you may not.  Take just a few minutes and flip through some memories. Your mother’s soothing words after breaking up with a girlfriend or boyfriend. Or her hands putting on a band aid and telling you not to worry. Remember your father teaching you how to drive. Remember your father’s face of unadulterated pride at your graduation.  These are times that will never come back.

Talk to your best friends, even if they are far away. Your hectic lives may have separated you, yet that will never erase the good times and bad times that were shared.  Friends have helped make you what you are today.  A true friend is family.

In your walks today, wherever you may go, you may see an elderly couple holding hands. That is indescribable and beautiful. After decades of wrinkling together, the bond is still there.  They know they are in the fall of their lives.  That couple likely never stepped into the Walden woods but surely they have sucked the marrow out of life.  They will not waste one minute on such unimportant things, like the Internet, television and texting, like you and I do.  Happy Thanksgiving.