Being Thankful

Why do we only eat a big turkey dinner on Thanksgiving?

I checked with the supermarket and it turns out they sell turkeys year-round.  Stuffing too.  And apparently that canned cranberry Jell-O is good through an apocalypse.  So it’s not for lack of ingredients. 

I think it’s because it feels so indulgent.  At Thanksgiving, we seem to give ourselves a pass to do something we really enjoy that if we did all the time would feel gluttonous.  I get that.   Everything in moderation, the rarity makes it special.  But certainly we could cook up a turkey breast in June without needing a crane to put on pants?  Maybe you do (cook turkey in June, not need a pants crane I hope) but I only seem to see that dinner once a year.

What I like most about most about Thanksgiving is how it always surprises me.  Not just in a “what are my crazy realitives going to do at dinner this year?” kind of way- but more of a “wow, I have so much more to be thankful for than I realized” kind of way.  So often we don’t take time to think about what we do right. 

We are a society that has so deeply conditioned ourselves to look at what’s wrong.  Having all bought into the belief that we need to be “well-rounded” and “versatile” when we bring home a report card do our parents first look at all the As and Bs- or jump right to the C and ask how we’re going to “fix” that.  It doesn’t get better as we get older.  We are constantly focusing on our flaws, our problems, and our weaknesses.  We spend more time trying to “fix” what’s broken instead of spending time accentuating what’s right.

So it’s nice that at least once a year we take a moment to think about what’s good.  And eat lots of stuffing. Those aren’t mutually exclusive you know.

As you sit down to your table this year take a moment to be thankful for the obvious things- friends, family, heath, etc.  But also- take a minute to be thankful for your talents.  Remind yourself of what you do well.  Pass on the humility like it was a vegetable and stuff yourself with some self-praise.  You’ll feel a bit gluttonous at first- but it’s ok to do that every once and a while.  And then maybe realize that even if we don’t recreate this meal for Independence Day next year (although I would love if that became a thing), it’s ok to have some stuffing or cranberries from time to time.  It feels good and we could all use it.

This Thanksgiving, enjoy yourself.  Cheers!