This year, our Thanksgiving gathering will be a small one—just my wife and me. I am grateful to have her by my side. My guess is that many of you will also be doing something similar and missing many of your loved ones as well. The unusual year of 2020 will soon pass into history, and before we know it, we will be celebrating as usual next year and being grateful for the many blessings yet to come.
I’ve always looked forward to Thanksgiving Day. It is one of my favorite holidays of the year. The combination of the food, the parade, football, and, most importantly, family, makes it a special day. It marks the beginning of the countdown to Christmas and signals the start of celebrating the end of another year. I certainly have a lot to be thankful for and feel fortunate to be in this position.
So much about life comes down to your attitude about it. I know privileged people who are regularly misanthropic and others with less economic advantages that seem to be mostly happy even though their lot in life seems comparatively difficult. Every day we wake up we get to make a choice about how we approach our life. We can see our existence as an amazing gift full of unlimited possibilities or a burden full of work, obligations and limitations. We can appreciate what we have or yearn for what’s beyond our reach. We can make a positive difference in the lives other people or focus exclusively on ourselves. We can build bridges to solidify positive relationships or forget to tend to the basic maintenance of effective human interaction.
It’s eay to overlook our true blessings amidst the daily chaos. I’ve always believed that everyone’s life is a novel, and we are all the protagonists of our own story. I, for one, am pleased with how my story has turned out. Sure, there have been disappointments, pains, and sorrows, but that is as it should be. Not everything works out as planned. We learn from our misfortunes as much as, if not more than, our good fortune. The journey shapes our character, not the other way around!
Some people handle whatever life throws at them, while others are beaten down by even the smallest challenge. Why is this? Every day, we have the opportunity to make a choice. We get to decide what we focus on and our attitude about it. You can choose to focus on what is right with your life and use this optimism as a launching pad to handle any ensuing difficulty, OR you can obsess over what is not working and see a struggle around every corner. Ultimately, life is fundamentally shaped by your perspective.
We get to decide what we focus on in life. The glass can be “half empty” or “half-full.” It all comes down to your perspective. Sadly, many of us end up obsessing over what we don’t have or how we are falling short rather than counting our multiple blessings. And, without question, there is always something to be grateful for.
I sincerely hope your homes are filled with love, friendship and joy this holiday season. And, in the midst of all the unnecessary consumerism that accompanies the holiday, I wish for you moments of clarity and peace around what’s truly important in your life. I also pray your hearts are filled with compassion and charity for those who are less fortunate.
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