Thankful for Less

Today is Thanksgiving in the USA, which typically means stuffing ourselves while we try to avoid politics or Covid laden conversations, football, and shopping for the Christmas season as soon as we put down our forks.  

My stubborn family refuses to acknowledge Christmas until after the Dallas Cowboys take a knee at the terminus of their annual Turkey Day match up.  I am totally okay with that, because fall doesn't even start in Texas til around then.  We have celebrated many Thanksgivings in shorts.   I also like to enjoy the long weekend with the family thinking about what I am thankful for; not rushing out for MORE.   I feel like it's hard to sit with thanks if we're thinking about MORE all the time.  

Gratitude is a double-edged sword.  This means that we can be drowning in toxic positivity and feel as if we should be grateful for ALL we have, because others aren't so fortunate.  We MUST feel grateful lest we appear UNgrateful for whatever intangible and tangible gifts we have received.  I think that's horse manure. 

Gratitude does not have to come in large doses on the 4th Thursday in November.  There is nothing wrong with just being thankful for your hot coffee.  Your car starting without a hiccup.  Your bank account being able to cover all your utilities.  

One of my students said (after I prompted them to disclose in 5 words or fewer what they were thankful for) that she was thankful for her family, and for being able to attend college, because not everyone gets to do that.  

Record scratch stop.  

She is right.  Sounds simple, but it's not a given. It's a privilege.  Thank you, K, for that reminder.  

Maybe sit with being thankful for the minimizing you have done in your life.  The people you have culled off your social media who have ceased to add value to your life.  The possessions/clothes/extras that you've repurposed or excised from your life.  The volunteering you love as you share your gifts with the world.  

No pressure to be thankful today, or any day.  You may not feel especially grateful for whatever is going on in your life right now.  But you can be grateful for what remains while still acknowledging what you have lost, or don't have. 

Be thankful for less.  It's a good place to sit.