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What Are We Thankful For?

At the Woodstock music festival in 1969, Country Joe and the Fish, sang a protest song which included the line, “And it’s one, two, three, what are we fighting for…” As the fourth Thursday in November approaches, the day which has become to be known as Thanksgiving Day, maybe at our tables, we can change those words a bit to read, “And it’s one, two, three, what are we thankful for…?

There have been so many variations of the tradition of everyone in a gathering telling the rest of the group, for what they are thankful, be it sitting in a circle on the floor in an elementary classroom, or sitting around the mock Thanksgiving table as a part of a school or church celebration of the first Thanksgiving. It may also be something that we still do around the family Thanksgiving table, before digging into the always delicious, and sometimes gluttonous, feast of that day. We all have something for which to be thankful.

Some may ask, how can there be something for which everyone can be thankful? Look at the world, and even our country, with all the pain, depression, hunger, intolerance, unacceptance, violence, and hatred which seem like anvils around peoples’ necks, that will never go away. It would be easy to be swept up in the melancholic feelings of what is happening, and maybe being thankful seems hard to fathom, or may seem unfeasible to some. I can understand that. But there is always something to be thankful for, even in the darkest of times, at least I think so.

I think the greatest thing we can all be thankful for, and that with which is within each one of our own selves, and can only be taken from us by our own selves, is hope.

Even in the worst of times, when we think nothing can ever get better, there is still one constant that we all have and no one can take it away from us, unless we let them, and that is hope. We can hope things can change for us, for our loved ones, for our country, for our world. We can hope that love overcomes hate, that joy can replace sadness, that tolerance and acceptance drive intolerance and unacceptance into oblivion. We can hope that those hungry will be filled, those depressed will see glimmers of light in their dark world, and that all the pain in the world goes away, and then maybe get involved with groups that try to make those things happen.

Those same people who asked how there could be something for which we all can be thankful, might say hoping, and wishing, and casting fate to the wind is unrealistic, a waste of time. My question to them is twofold. First, what do we have to lose? Second, if we give up hope, what, then, do we have left?

I’ve had a good life. I’ve had a lucky life too. I suffered a couple of health issues that, in both situations, doctors included the phrase “possibly catastrophic” in their explanations. I had a lot of fear when each happened, but also a lot of hope that they would turn out positively. They did, and I am very grateful, but I feel very lucky too. Many people have issues in their lives, many, possibly more catastrophic than mine were, and I hope (see how easy that word hope pops up) they may find the healing and peace of mind that came my way.

We can wish for a big house, or a fancy new car, or designer clothes. We may hope we win the lottery, or at least a share of the big money. Those things could possibly happen, but realistically, probably won’t, but that doesn’t stop us from wishing and/or hoping. No one can take our hopes, our dreams, or our wishes, away without our permission. So let’s keep on dreaming, wishing, and especially hoping, and on Thursday, let our contribution to the “table-go-round” discussion of what we are most thankful for be, “I am thankful for the opportunity and ability to hope.” Happy Thanksgiving, all.

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