Birds of a Feather Endure Together... On Giving Thanks
Gathering around a table of abundance has become somewhat of a memory in these times of economic woes and worries. Though Thanksgiving is again upon us, it is with a heavy heart that thousands of American families will sit at their tables with less to enjoy and, sadly, less to be thankful for. During these trying times, as we await an historic transition in the early days of 2009, so many of us have found ourselves in unfamiliar territory. We of the wasteful lot are suddenly tackling the trials of the have-nots. And, as seen by the countless bailouts and handouts and begging and crashing going on, it is painfully obvious that we aren’t handling our new status very well at all.
It is time for us as a people and a nation to admit that our way wasn’t necessarily the right way. It is time to acknowledge that perhaps our days of living richly, and selfishly, are behind us – at least for now. It is time for those of us who have been fortunate enough to keep our homes and our jobs to truly understand the meaning of thanksgiving. It is time for us to revisit what it really means to live the American Dream, recalling our brothers and sisters in history who worked hard to leave us with an abundant land with which to feed and clothed ourselves and future generations. It is time we realize that if we continue in our way, we will not have much of anything to leave our children.
Over our years, through carefully calculated and orchestrated words and images, we have all been led by the hand – like children in submissive obedience – to drink from the fountain of good fortune. In the fountain, the water flowed bright and crystal clear. In it we all saw the images of what we should aspire to be and aspire to attain. We drank from the waters and filled ourselves with dreams that were harder to attain that we originally thought. Some of our dreams were so far-fetched that you have to be some kind of visionary to assume it could be real, that it could all really last. We tried a having-it-all approach to life. Suddenly, our homes got bigger and our cars grew, too. Our children were booked with activities and play-dates from sun up to sundown because keeping up with the Jones is hard work. Their rooms resembled assembly lines at Toys R Us. Yet, it was still never enough. There was no television flat enough, or large enough to quell our hunger. Our beepers were not enough and so our cell phones took over. Now these phones have morphed into BlackBerrys and I-Phones and other such thingamajigs that rule our every second. We forgot how to speak to each other and replaced human contact with contact via latest apparatus. The furniture we bought, the homes we expected to have, the cars we thought we deserved, the best of everything lay all around us…and still we didn’t find happiness. In our quest, we lost our way. We replaced us and ours with it and mine and the outcome wasn’t fulfilling for anyone.
Now our every-days are filled with news of lost jobs, less service, corrupt companies, crashing markets, real estate nightmares, and foreclosures of homes and bankruptcy of once prosperous companies. Today we cannot see a way out, though ever the optimists, we still hope. I hope…
So tomorrow, wherever you may gather, for feast or frolics, know this: Despite all that surrounds us, we are blessed and so we must be thankful on this day and all others. We must remember that the significance of the day stemmed from the gratitude of simple abundance and not excessive gluttony. We have to remain hopeful for better tomorrows, striving to contribute with whatever gifts God has given to each of us, and we have to do so without expecting anything in return. When the clouds finally lift and we can see a bountiful abundance once again, we must remember how we struggled now and take from the bounty only what we need and not all that we want. We have to come back better people from all of this, so that we can remain, as we had been in our past, an example to the people on earth of kindness, goodwill, unselfishness and contentment. It is only through this path that we can recover from what we have now to be better as we go forward.
Happy Thanksgiving!
It is time for us as a people and a nation to admit that our way wasn’t necessarily the right way. It is time to acknowledge that perhaps our days of living richly, and selfishly, are behind us – at least for now. It is time for those of us who have been fortunate enough to keep our homes and our jobs to truly understand the meaning of thanksgiving. It is time for us to revisit what it really means to live the American Dream, recalling our brothers and sisters in history who worked hard to leave us with an abundant land with which to feed and clothed ourselves and future generations. It is time we realize that if we continue in our way, we will not have much of anything to leave our children.
Over our years, through carefully calculated and orchestrated words and images, we have all been led by the hand – like children in submissive obedience – to drink from the fountain of good fortune. In the fountain, the water flowed bright and crystal clear. In it we all saw the images of what we should aspire to be and aspire to attain. We drank from the waters and filled ourselves with dreams that were harder to attain that we originally thought. Some of our dreams were so far-fetched that you have to be some kind of visionary to assume it could be real, that it could all really last. We tried a having-it-all approach to life. Suddenly, our homes got bigger and our cars grew, too. Our children were booked with activities and play-dates from sun up to sundown because keeping up with the Jones is hard work. Their rooms resembled assembly lines at Toys R Us. Yet, it was still never enough. There was no television flat enough, or large enough to quell our hunger. Our beepers were not enough and so our cell phones took over. Now these phones have morphed into BlackBerrys and I-Phones and other such thingamajigs that rule our every second. We forgot how to speak to each other and replaced human contact with contact via latest apparatus. The furniture we bought, the homes we expected to have, the cars we thought we deserved, the best of everything lay all around us…and still we didn’t find happiness. In our quest, we lost our way. We replaced us and ours with it and mine and the outcome wasn’t fulfilling for anyone.
Now our every-days are filled with news of lost jobs, less service, corrupt companies, crashing markets, real estate nightmares, and foreclosures of homes and bankruptcy of once prosperous companies. Today we cannot see a way out, though ever the optimists, we still hope. I hope…
So tomorrow, wherever you may gather, for feast or frolics, know this: Despite all that surrounds us, we are blessed and so we must be thankful on this day and all others. We must remember that the significance of the day stemmed from the gratitude of simple abundance and not excessive gluttony. We have to remain hopeful for better tomorrows, striving to contribute with whatever gifts God has given to each of us, and we have to do so without expecting anything in return. When the clouds finally lift and we can see a bountiful abundance once again, we must remember how we struggled now and take from the bounty only what we need and not all that we want. We have to come back better people from all of this, so that we can remain, as we had been in our past, an example to the people on earth of kindness, goodwill, unselfishness and contentment. It is only through this path that we can recover from what we have now to be better as we go forward.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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