Thursday, November 27, 2008

Blessed and so thankful

Traditionally Thanksgiving is a harvest festival and a time to express thanks for the harvest and gratitude in general. Over the years I've been a guest at various holiday celebrations and participated willingly in whatever their traditions were, so I know for many folks it means a huge family gathering, a parade, piles of food, televised football games, and much more. But none of that really registered with me.

For a couple years I took a few extra days off in addition to the holiday and vacationed in Mexico. As Thanksgiving seems to be primarily a U.S. and Canadian holiday, you'd think that the day would pass by unnoticed. But still  - there was always a restaurant somewhere that catered to the American tourists and offered turkey and all the trimmings!

Earlier this week a new friend told me that he was planning to spend the day helping to serve Thanksgiving dinner at a homeless shelter.  His comment caught me by surprise, made me appreciate his charitable heart, and gave me plenty to think about.

Really, I feel so incredibly blessed and on any given day, have so much more than many people out there in the world.  Perhaps that is the best way to show gratitude for what you have - by giving something of yourself to others who have less. Worth considering when searching for your own Thanksgiving traditions.

As I said before, I am blessed and I am thankful for all of it.  But I'm going to borrow someone else's words to express it best:

"I've got money in my pocket,
I like the color of my hair.
I've got a friend who loves me,
Got a house, I've got a car.
I've got a good mother,
and her voice is what keeps me here.
Feet on ground,
Heart in hand,
Facing forward,
Be yourself."

2 comments:

Harbor Hon said...

Great post Kath! I think you are blessed just for being able to look out your window at the wonderful view you see from the island everyday. Everything else is just icing on the cake. :) xxoo

Sheepish Annie said...

I think we are all learning a little bit about being thankful for what we have these days. Still, it's always good to get a reminder of those things we have that others don't, right?

Happy Thanksgiving!