The holiday season is well underway here in our beautiful mountain home in North Carolina as I write these words. And you no doubt have lots of plans in store for yourself and perhaps your family for both Thanksgiving and Christmas – among other celebrations.
But we as Americans way too often since the last century have a propensity to skip the turkey and dressing in our hearts and minds – if not our stomachs – and head straight to Christmas and all the shopping, pageantry and gift-giving. Sure it’s great to spend that time with our family and buying the perfect gift sometimes makes us feel even better than receiving one.
But this year, I urge you to take a moment at Thanksgiving to really sit with the purpose of that holiday. Sure, the pilgrim story of sharing a harvest with their native friends after some really tough times surviving the new world for the Europeans is mostly mythology nowadays, but the ideas behind it are not imaginary.
When we live through tough times – as many of us have done these past two years here in North Carolina – we should not take for granted that we and our families are still here. I’ve had many personal losses this year including the death of a good friend in August. Last Thanksgiving he made sure to say grateful words to his friends and family. But those short 12 months ago, we never imagined he wouldn’t be with us for the next time we gathered around a well-prepared bird to celebrate. Yet, his chair will be empty this year.
So what about you, dear reader? Do you have blessings to be thankful for? I’m sure you do, so please, take a moment before you dig into the delicacies or rush forward to the gift giving to list those things and bask in the warmth of gratitude.
Happy Holidays, y’all.