Grateful For…

With the leftovers finally gone, we can reflect on the Thanksgiving holiday and the tradition of giving thanks.  

As we all learned in grade school,  the first Thanksgiving feast was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their initial harvest in the New World in November 1621. The feast lasted three days and was attended by 90 Native American Wampanoag people and 53 survivors of the Mayflower and repeated in 1623 at another time of year, but afterward was held sporadically at different times during the harvest.

President George Washington was the first to proclaim the first public Thanksgiving in celebration of the new constitution on Thursday, November 26, 1789. But after that, Thanksgiving was only observed regionally and periodically. It still wasn’t an annual tradition, until in 1837, a ladies magazine called “Godey’s Lady’s Book” began publishing Thanksgiving menus and recipes, which sparked interest in the meal as an annual family tradition.

Finally on October 8, 1863, in an effort to remind Americans of family gathering and tradition in the midst of the horrific American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation, passed by Congress, declaring… “I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States…to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving.”

In the century and a half since, Thanksgiving has meant many things to many people, from family traditions and religious praise to football and parades. But all three historical milestones created Thanksgiving as an act of gratitude, giving thanks.

Gratitude is an interesting concept. It is the idea of being grateful for what has been bestowed on you. But can you be gracious for what you have and yet not satisfied?

You can be grateful for health and all the wonderful things in life and yet lament the ill health of those you love and hope for their swift improvement.

Thankfulness for warm sunshine and a beautiful place to live does not diminish or erase a desire for improvements to be encouraged.

And with a world in turmoil, those not in danger can appreciate immediate safety and in the same breath be outraged at the strife of others and demand change.

Some say true peace is being content with what you have, but others inspire you to strive for more. If you keep wanting more from life, will you achieve more? Where would we be if inventors were satisfied with the status quo? Not on this device, that is certain.

And isn’t it our responsibility as citizens to participate in our government and embolden our representatives to promote prosperity for all?

If the goal of humankind is to continue to evolve, we must improve, change and move forward. Can we do that if gratitude prevents us from craving more?

I think the answer is left to each individual person. No one fits into your shoes and shouldn’t try. So,