It is Thanksgiving time in Memphis. You remember Thanksgiving, right? It is the holiday that comes in between Halloween and Christmas. Some people like to throw away their pumpkins and put up their trees, but that is another article for another time. This article is about the essence of Thanksgiving, being thankful.
Thanksgiving was a festival celebrated by the Pilgrims to count their blessings for a successful harvest. The tradition of the holiday passed down to us from our ancestors may have changed, but we celebrate the day because we are thankful for something.
But what does “being thankful” actually mean? I think that is a tough question. I find myself not being thankful at times because I am either taking advantage of things or taking things for granted. You know the children’s book “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie?” Allow me to familiarize yourself with this literary masterpiece. A boy gives a mouse a cookie. The mouse then asks for a glass of milk, then a straw to drink the milk and so on. I am pretty sure that book was written about moments in my life. It is not intentional, but it is subconscious. We all have that one friend who we constantly ask for favors, knowing they will do them. We have that one co-worker we know will pick up our slack if we are not really feeling like working that day. We have people who do things for us every day and we either do not acknowledge them or even worse, we come to expect them to do those things and get mad of they are not done.
Thanksgiving gives us (especially me) a time to reflect and figure out what are the things we take advantage of or take for granted. Yes, we should always be thankful for what we have every day and not just on Thanksgiving, but we let life get in the way. Having a day set aside to give thanks helps us to stop and thank those who we may not thank every day, our family, friends, co-workers and a higher power, if that is your thing.
But do not let it stop the day after Thanksgiving when you are shopping those deals or even the day after. I will be using Thanksgiving as a reset. Those things I thought of that I take advantage of or take for granted? I will keep those in my head and make a conscious effort the days, weeks, months and years after November 21, 2018 to be thankful. I hope you do as well.
Happy Thanksgiving. Thank you for reading my articles and making my passion for writing a reality.
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