I honestly feel all of us should walk in a state of "Thankfulness". It's difficult for a realist/pessimist like me, but, it's still something I do try to strive to do. However, on Thanksgiving we should pay some extra care to being thankful.
1. Be Thankful Like the Pilgrims - We have all heard the Thanksgiving origin story. In today's America we all feel free to express whatever we feel about our country, leaders, neighbors, friends and families with no real worries of serious repercussions. So we do. But, let's think like the pilgrims for a moment...What were they thankful for?
A. A new land of freedom - We should be thankful every day for how free we are in our country. Is it perfect? No. Do we still need to keep fighting for the freedom that is so precious? Yes. Does everyone get treated equally all the time? No. But, we all can keep pushing and believing and hoping for that. So let's be thankful for the freedoms we do have now and always strive for more.
B. Believe How We Want - A lot of those who came over, did so, so that they could worship God in the way they wanted without fear of death or imprisonment. I realize religion is a hot topic, but, we actually can discuss, agree, disagree and live our lives as we see fit for the most part. Most of us alive today in our country who have even felt persecuted truly haven't felt the severity of that pain as those before us have. So let's be thankful we have the freedom to believe.
C. Thankfulness for Those Who Protect - During the first Thanksgiving, I am sure there was a lot of thankfulness for those who protected the communities from harm. It was bad enough when illness came, but, fighting to keep their new found freedoms was a serious task. A serious ongoing task that lingers to this day. There are those who put themselves in harms way on a daily basis for you and I that don't even know our names, because they are keeping us safe. How can we ever forget to be thankful for them?
2. Be Thankful for Sustenance - There are those in our country that still do not have food on this day like most of us do. In fact, a lot of us have 2, 3 or more "Thanksgiving Dinners" to go to, when there is someone who doesn't even have 1. That just boggles our minds sometimes because a huge portion of our country can't imagine living that way. But, having what we need is truly a gift. Even if you work your tail off to have those things, we all find out at some point or another some things fall out of our control at times and to still have what we need is a miracle. We should focus on the abundance of good we have and not on the things we don't have. Being truly thankful for every moment we have it because you never know when it could disappear...
3. Be Thankful for Loved Ones - We need to be thankful for those that are distant, those that are close to us, those we have loved (and lost) and those new loved ones that are on the way to meet us, whether as friends or new family members. Sometimes during the busy holiday season "so and so" gets on our nerves and we get irritated we have to spend an afternoon with them. But, those loved ones who rub us the wrong way, teach us so many things about ourselves and help temper who we are. Sometimes we think if they aren't around the next year, that wouldn't make a difference, but it will. Everyone in our circle (whether outer or inner circle) affects who we are in some way or another. We learn to be who we are from our connections to each other. There are those out there that truly feel they have no one and who would give their right arm to have an irritating relative around to just not be alone. I have felt alone at times in my life, but never to that degree and I am truly and completely thankful for that.
You may be reading this after the holiday and wish you had been more mindful during it, but, that's ok. You can always choose to be thankful each and every day from now on. That is what my goal is.
Thank you to all of you who take a few moments of their time to read my random thoughts. My goal for these more personal blogs is to encourage those who may read them and to make us all feel more connected. I truly think when you work with people, you need to strive to understand those who are different from you and concentrate on common ground. How else can you serve them?
Until Next Time!
Jen Lush--Associate Broker and Managing Broker's Mother
