Being Thankful

All of us are pretty busy this time of year. Things to do, places to be. The slide from Thanksgiving to Christmas seems to get shorter every year. Of late, I’ve been rolling with love while nursing my 92-year old mother back to health and getting her rolling along herself back to her townhome. For the sacred privilege of having my mom still with us is something huge to be thankful for. Certainly, I’m late with Thanksgiving well wishes, but being thankful is a year-round job, so I’ll just keep the work and offer a few words of thanks.

There’s no way I could list all the things I’m thankful for, we’d be here a long time. Although, especially if she’s reading this, I’d like to thank my wife. Thankful that she’s still putting up with me after all these years. She’s a good sport.

Living Ain’t Easy

I’m thankful for being around after all the years of abuse I did to my body. Have always tried to be a good steward, although I did enjoy getting loose with Irish Car Bombs that one night…and there were other adventures. Isn’t so much the slippery shenanigans or ceremonial libations. All that happened, but over the years I’ve learned to pace myself.

There’s another reason for all the wear and tear on the body. Flat-out living folks. For me, closing in on 70, there is a physical and emotional fatigue from an enduring perseverance to achieve what I set out to do – a constant roll of the dice. An accumulation of nicks and bumps we take whether it good or bad. Living is hard and I’m thankful to have made it this far.

They say you learn from your mistakes. That’s good luck for me. I’m thankful for all the dumb decisions I’ve made and certainly thankful that none of them were any dumber. Made some lamebrain choices in my life and many of them surely could have spelled disaster. Add it all up and I figure I’ve learned a lot from those mistakes.

I’m thankful for friends met for five minutes somewhere perhaps forty-five years ago and for the ones I see all the time. I don’t have a huge social circle or a busy calendar for get togethers. I’ve always been more of an insular guy. I’m thankful for friends who get disgusted with me for not answering my phone or mail. What they don’t realize is that they are giving me the gift of peace and quiet. Everyone who I have met has either been so kind as to accept me for who I am or dismissed me outright. I’ve learned from both kinds.

Thankful for Advice

Speaking of friends, I’m thankful for the good advice my friends have given me. My old friend, Rial Williams, in discussing the recent election and me calling Mr. Trump an idiot, said, “What choice did we have?” Did a lot of thinking on that one and Rial is exactly correct. Democrats and Republicans both have done a lousy job of working for the people. If you’re a bit old school and remember how we got here, both parties leave a lot to be desired.

What I also learned from what Rial said is that, for me, politics really has nothing to do with it. I didn’t call Trump an idiot for any reason other than his character. What are his moral and ethical standards? Does he have empathy and determination to work for all Americans? To me, he gets failing grades on all the character issues. Low moral standards and zero empathy. Whatever his acumen as a politician is undone by the insulting manner he aims to lead us. Politics is a nasty business, but whichever party wins, we turn 180 degrees every four years or so. Guess you could say I’m thankful my focus isn’t on politics.

Thinking Right

Being thankful is an overwhelming thought when you consider just how many reasons you have to be thankful. The politics, the day-to-day living and the obligations we must fulfill all add up to much ado about nothing. Deeper than that is the value we place on our own lives and how we go about delivering the promises we have made to ourselves.

What we should do is concentrate on the intangibles, matters of the heart that keep us going through good times and bad. The love of family, the kindness of a stranger, our health, our growth as a person for all we’ve been through.

As the holiday season slides right on through to the new year, seek out a friend or a loved one. Tell them how much you are thankful for them and why. Even if they aren’t right by your side, you can still talk to them. You may have to phone them. Perhaps sit down and compose a note. You may have to talk to them in the night gazing at the stars, looking at a picture, or if you’re lucky, you can gaze into their eyes and speak slowly. There’s nothing that needs to be justified, no big cloud of smoke to clear the room. Doesn’t have to be about all the times you disagreed with them or feel they hurt you, that’s not the point. Just find a shiny piece of them in your heart and see where it takes you.