November 24, 2021
Happy Thanksgiving!
As I watch the sum come up on this bright, cold, morning, I want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving and a bountiful day, and week – and rest of your life.
There are so many problems in our world today I seldom take the time to remember all the blessings. So many people through history have lived through times that were much worse: terrible wars, famine, lack of basic necessities, starvation, and on and on. I have read a good bit about the Civil War this year to remind myself how fortunate I am—we all are today.
For anyone who wishes to be more thankful for what they have, however, it won’t happen by chance: You will have to choose it. As Samuel Johnson said:
“Gratitude is a fruit of great cultivation.”
At the end of his play, Twelfth Night, Shakespeare has only one final message:
I can no other answer make
But thanks,
And thanks,
and ever thanks.
W. H Auden made vivid that there are always problems, but then what?
I could
Find reasons fast enough
To face the sky and roar
In anger and despair
At what is going on,
Demanding that it name
Whoever is to blame:
The sky would only wait
Till all my breath was gone
And then reiterate
As if I wasn’t there
That singular command
I do not understand,
Bless what there is for being,
Which has to be obeyed,
for What else am I made for,
Agreeing or disagreeing?
And Sheenagh Pugh conveys so well that bad things are not inevitable:
Sometimes things don’t go, after all,
from bad to worse.
Some years, muscadel faces down frost;
green thrives; the crops don’t fail,
sometimes – a man aims high, and all goes well.
A people sometimes will step back from war;
elect an honest man; decide they care enough,
that they can’t leave some stranger poor.
Some men become what they were born to be.
Sometimes our best efforts do not go amiss;
sometimes we do as we meant to.
The sun will sometimes melt – a field of sorrow
that seemed hard frozen:
may it happen for you.
When we are grateful, it is much easier to be kind—which is sometimes quite hard. When it is hard for me, I try to remember these words by Philo of Alexandria:
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.”
For me, music often is the best way to change my energy. And we all need someone to “Stand By Us”
https://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=1430
This should make you smile:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJOZp2ZftCw
Here is one of my all time favorite holiday music videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ_MGWio-vc
A video to touch your heart and inspire:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ46Ot4_lLo
And a video with which to settle into the depths:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDyIeHPxdUg
A story that inspires me to wish you “enough.”
I Wish You Enough (from the Kindspring web site)
At an airport I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. They had announced her plane’s departure and standing near the door, he said to his daughter, “I love you, I wish you enough.”
She said, “Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Daddy.” They kissed good-bye and she left.
He walked over toward the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, “Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?” “Yes, I have,” I replied.
Saying that brought back memories I had of expressing my love and appreciation for all my Dad had done for me. Recognizing that his days were limited, I took the time to tell him face to face how much he meant to me. So I knew what this man was experiencing.
“Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?” I asked.
“I am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is, her next trip back will be for my funeral, ” he said.
“When you were saying good-bye I heard you say, ‘I wish you enough.’ May I ask what that means?”
He began to smile. “That’s a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.” He paused for a moment and looking up as if trying to remember it in detail, he smiled even more.
“When we said ‘I wish you enough,’ we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with enough good things to sustain them,” he continued and then turning toward me he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.
“I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright. I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive. I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess. I wish enough “Hello’s” to get you through the final “Good-bye.”
He then began to sob and walked away.
And here are a few other stories to encourage feelings of thankfulness and kindness on this Thanksgiving Day.
Bridging the differences
https://www.kindspring.org/story/view.php?sid=8392
Sometimes it takes so little
https://www.kindspring.org/story/view.php?sid=117506
When is too late?
https://www.kindspring.org/story/view.php?sid=6528
And one of my old favorites: A cab ride
https://www.kindspring.org/story/view.php?sid=8769
May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving day,
and every day thereafter,
David