As Thanksgiving approaches it’s clear to me that finding things to be thankful for can be difficult. With flood concerns, flu season, wars, and civil unrest, it’s harder these days to stop and think “What can I be thankful for?”
Every day I try and stop and think about the good things going on in my life, despite the endless noise that is society these days, and it drowns out all the good we do. So here is a short list of things to be thankful for.
• Be thankful for your health. Not merely the fact that you dodged the sniffles recently by your secret formula of Echinacea and vitamin C, but thankful you are not wheelchair bound or unable to communicate. Every time I start to feel sorry for myself I think of that scenario and it wakes me up to the fact I am one lucky son of a gun.
• Be thankful you have family. If you have family that doesn’t judge you harshly, still invites you over for raw hamburgers and lousy potato salad, and doesn’t care that you do your Sean Connery impression (badly) every Thanksgiving then you are one lucky person. You could be alone every holiday, with nothing but the TV Guide to keep you company. Smile when the in–laws come over.
• Be thankful for a friend. A true friend makes sure you have somewhere to go on Saturday night, even if it is just for pizza and cribbage. A friend won’t mind if you borrow their car and leave it with no gas. Do yourself a favor and call your friend over for dinner to make sure they know they are loved. Buy a card, pick up a phone, but don’t let more time go by without them knowing what they mean to you.
• Be thankful for the differences. We are all different and yet we are all the same. We all want the same things out of life just at different times. Be open to different views and be willing to change. And continue to look for the important things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. And not just good gravy and lump-free mashed potatoes, although that would be a bonus.
Have a great Thanksgiving.
Talk to us
Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.
To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.