Thank You

Yes, Thanksgiving is over, but I’m extending the Thanksgiving of good feelings into another week. After all, aren’t we all here to help each other (except slow drivers, who infuriate me)?

I thank all those who developed useful electricity, and who have provided light, heat, and transportation. These are things I am truly grateful for every day.  As we drove for an hour to my son’s house for Thanksgiving dinner, I realized that without electricity, and cars and roads, we would only be able to visit each other once or twice a year, rather than once or twice a week.

I can imagine what it must be like to live in a time or a place without these things, as some people still do. I’m aware of how lucky we are to have access to modern conveniences like reliable heat and running water because there are those who don’t.

I know that we all have challenges. Some more than others. I am grateful that for me and my family, our challenges don’t involve having to find food and water or shelter. But everyone, even those who are blessed with modern conveniences have emotional needs. That’s what life is all about — filling our needs.

And one of those important needs is a sense of community.  In ancient societies banishment was a death sentence. Think about it. Suppose that when you wake up tomorrow morning there were no other people alive.  Anywhere. Except you.

Can you cook?  Run a power plant?  Treat a wound?  Maybe you can do two out of three, but without the safety net of one another and community, would life even be worth living?

Whenever I fill a pot with hot water, I think of Lyndon Johnson as a boy growing up in rural west Texas. When his family needed hot water, no problem.  Just carry the pot down to the river, fill it, lug it back up the hill, cut a bunch of logs, start a fire, heat the water. It took Johnson’s family half a day to obtain hot water. Heck, all we need to do is to pay the utility bills and turn a faucet.

I’m looking forward to returning to work, which provides a large part of my social network.  I am grateful for and appreciate the people I work with. I enjoy working on projects with other people, and it gives me great pleasure to help others.

So let’s remind ourselves to savor every moment, and take time each morning to reflect upon all of our blessings. We have so many.

Good fortune is not an orphan when we help each other sail atop the sea of life.

Gobble gobble.

Alan