Thanksgiving in Our Generation
Back in the 1600s, we were told that life was hard. Of course it was!
And it has not been any different for all succeeding generations, including ours. The only difference is that now we have cable or satellite TV 24/7 providing us with witty talk show hosts who believe they are being funny and live, breaking and replays of news telecasts which focus on the sad, the bad and the ugly. We have bars and clubs, actions and substances to drown and dance our sorrows away. We have the internet, blogs, email, youtube, facebook, twitter, text and voice messaging to watch and to rehash our problems over and over and to shout them to all the world.
Yahoo! I’m a loser!
We all are, we all were, and we all will be in the future. It’s a fact that out of the over 37,000 participants in any yearly New York Marathon, only one runner (per gender) will win. The rest will not win the prize and the title. Losers.
It is a fact that all high school, college, amateur and pro leagues will only crown one winner (per season) for whatever sport or discipline. The rest will be sore, sorry, fault-finding, complaining and/or whiny losers.
It is a fact that people, corporations, organizations and political parties will volunteer their time, money, skills, talents and effort into national presidential elections and primaries. But every four years, there will only be one U.S. President. The rest of America will be what?
I didn’t say that!
Suffering Is Both Universal and Personal
But just so we know (or remember), that back in the year 1620 many of the 102 pilgrims from the Old World who first sailed on that long sea voyage on the Mayflower did not survive the trip!
Those who did and manage to settle in New England at just about the perfect time, just in time for their first winter in the New World were sick or dying.
Their records say that up to three people died each day during their first two months on dry land. Only 52 people survived that first year in Plymouth. And that only in the fall of 1621 (the following year) and only with the help of some Native Americans were they able to achieve their first harvest and thus celebrate what is generally regarded as the basis for the annual Thanksgiving Holiday we now celebrate on the last Thursday of November. Happy Turkey Day!
Remember there is nothing to celebrate about and that there is nothing to be thankful for, that wasn’t achieved through trials and tribulations or blood, sweat and tears.
And this year is no different!
No NBA – No Problem, No NFL – Big Problem
Good news! The football season was saved from a lockout and so there will be games on Thanksgiving Day!
Shopping malls and stores are again going all out for us and of course our money and so they have decided to move Black Friday back to Thanksgiving Thursday. This year they are opening their doors on Thanksgiving Day itself or at midnight. And yes, online stores could not be beat as they have been on top of securing hard-earned shoppers-money for days, weeks and months ahead of the Black Friday and the Cyber Monday celebrations. Lastly, not withstanding that it has been an odd tradition in recent years but only this year has it is become in vogue to camp out inside cities.
And so Occupy Wall Street, eat your heart out, die-hard bargain-hunters will now occupy Best Buy, Walmart, Target, Macy’s, Kohl’s, etc. etc. etc. And yes, retail giants are just so thankful.
But aside from any of these, right now what are we really supposed to be thankful for this year and hopefully each and every year?
Five Reasons To Give Thanks For
If you can read this… then…
be thankful that you can actually read and give thanks for your education and your teachers. be elated for your eyesight or your contacts or eyeglasses and your medical insurance or whoever paid for them. be ecstatic for your internet connection, your desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone or whoever is footing the bill or has provided them. you should jump up and down for your government for not censoring this site. You could very well be living a country which have blocked access to certain sites that you visit everyday and take for granted the opportunity, the liberty and the freedom to do so. and be blessed that your school, your boss, your parents or your spouse have not blocked this.
You Are Not Alone In Your Misery And You Can Do Something About It
If you are hard up this year, there are many of us in the same boat which seems to be going nowhere near where we want it to go. You are not alone!
If you now have a very limited budget to work with every single month, then maybe it is just time to find out if you have other skills you have inside you that you know nothing about. Start a vegetable garden, even a small one for your personal consumption. Besides they keep telling us that veges are good for us. So what could be cooler, safer, healthier and cheaper than growing them ourselves? Start a hobby that could potentially make you some money while doing something you really love to do. Start getting some classes which you are interested in and could offer you a path into a new career.
If you are really struggling and barely hanging on, then be thankful you still are. Some people have totally given up. If you are still there and reading this then you are still here for a reason and probably all you need to do is to find that reason and to fulfill it. And above all, enjoy the journey to achieve it.
If you haven’t been eating out or able to buy the things that you used to, take heart. Thanksgiving Day should be the day that you are thankful for and the only day that any of us should really be eating our brains out.
How can we be thankful when we eat lavishly every weekend or even every single day?
How can we be thankful, if we don’t really see or feel the love and support of people whom we love and who seem to love us. Thanksgiving Day can be hard on anyone of us, but be thankful that once a year we can still have everyone in the family or close relatives and friends to meet up, to dine and to support one another all in a single roof.
Enjoy Your Thanksgiving Dinner
If you can still afford your traditional Thanksgiving meal, then celebrate it with all the people you love. If you have to tone it down this year, then by all means, tone it down and bring up the fun, the love, the care and the support level instead.
If you cannot afford anything this year, it shouldn’t be hard to look up organizations offering free thanksgiving meals in your general area. And if we can help out, maybe this year is the year that we help out and volunteer or share some holiday cheer to somebody who really needs it.
Have a meaningful and a happy Thanksgiving Day!
Final Note: If this year have gotten you get closer to the people you love and even close to your God, then that should be an awesome reason to be thankful for. Knowing yourself, it probably wouldn’t have happened without all the trials you have to go through. If you really believe in a higher purpose or a higher power you can have somebody to thank. Otherwise everything else is meaningless in the sense that everything just happens by sheer accident or for no real reason. And all you end up being thankful for is yourself for being who you are today and all your achievements which you most probably single-handedly acquired all on your own. Happy thanks to you day anyway. Have fun.
Recommended Thanksgiving Reading:
Top 10 Things the Pilgrims Were Thankful For (Top 10 Finalist 2009 HumorFeed Satire News Awards)
Myths and Realities of Thanksgiving