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Spiritual sideline - Giving Thanks

© Jennifer M. Witkowski

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of all. No matter where I am in life, Thanksgiving always forces me to take some time to really consider all I have to be grateful for. It didn't matter if I was a starving undergrad, subsiding on ramen noodles, or enjoying the comfort of my first real job and real home. It always did - and still does - make me stop for a moment in time and completely forget all of my material cares and worries. Thanksgiving always made me forget, also, all of my goals, all of my wishes, all of my desires, all the wishes and work toward the future, and revel in the appreciation of what I have now, in this moment. The injustices of the past were left forgiven and forgotten on Thanksgiving, and the anxiety about what the next day, next week, next year might bring was similarly abandoned. For me, the best part of Thanksgiving is giving thanks for the joy of just being.

It is also for me a time of gratitude. The saying goes that no matter how bad off you are, there is always someone out there worse off than you. Thanksgiving has always made me realize this, and made me want to strive to help those who are worse off than me. It makes me forget my selfish impatience for a day. The thoughts, "If I only had this," and, "I've worked so hard, why don't I have that?" cease to cross my mind during this season. Sure, my clothes might be from the local discount store instead of a trendy fashion store. At least I have clothes. Sure, I might not be able to afford going to a fancy restaurant. At least I have food on my table. In the realization of the relativity of happiness and success, true gratitude is found. I'm not concentrating on those who have more. I'm content with what I have. And it is my turn to concentrate on those who have less, to help them find the joy I now know.

It is a time for visiting the homeless shelter and helping in a soup kitchen - not out of any sense of obligation, but rather out of a sense of gratitude that I have a family to return to and feast with later. I'm never more grateful for those that I love than when I realize there are people out there who have no one. Familial conflicts fade into the background and become unimportant when I realize that, in spite all of our differences, we have each other. And that gift is greater than any disagreement.

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