Just popping in to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving! This will be a uniquely strange day of thanks, capping off a uniquely strange year. Many people will find it quite difficult to give thanks when there is so much uncertainty, fear, and sickness plaguing the country and our lives. Perhaps you can’t be with family or friends, or you can’t enjoy your usual holiday traditions. It’s understandably easy to focus on what is missing this holiday season. This year has been hard. Really hard. And we are all exhausted. But as Aristotle said, “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.”
This is our challenge on this Thanksgiving and throughout the holiday season: focus (really hard) to see the light in our lives.
Wherever you are right now, take a deep breath and look up from the screen. If you’re at home, look at the roof over your head. The food in your fridge, the books on your shelf, the clothes in your closet. Take comfort in the comforts of your life. Think of all the experiences (good and bad) that have led you here, how they changed you as a person, and how everything around you has also changed. Every part of our lives is changing constantly, so wherever you are, whether you are happy with it or hate it, know that it is not forever. Every moment of every day is a chance for something new, and that is something to be grateful for.
Now close your eyes and think of all your family and friends spread across the country, across the world, and across time. Picture their faces, reflect on the memories you share, the happy times. Imagine them smiling, laughing, hugging you, loving and supporting you. You have that. You have them. Maybe not physically at this moment, maybe no longer physically in your life. But they will forever be a part of your story and a part of your heart.
We all have so much to be grateful for, and I know how hard it is to remember that when times get hard. So this uniquely strange Thanksgiving, let’s all try uniquely hard to be aware of it.
From my family to yours, happy Thanksgiving.
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