Thanksgiving Thoughts

As the Thanksgiving Day extended weekend comes to a close, I’ve been thinking about what I have to be thankful for.

The short answer is that I’m thankful for everything that I have.

You only have to browse the news headlines to see how fortunate you are. Even if things aren’t going particularly well, there is always some horrible story to remind you that things can always be much worse. I’m not a religious man, but I can honestly say that I feel blessed to occupy the space I’m in today. We really have no control over so much of what happens to us in this life.

Actually, we can’t control any of it. Our actions did not dictate who our parents are and where we were born, for example. Instead of being born in New York City, fate could have dropped me in Darfour, Bagdad, or Pyongyang—just to pull places from the news. That’s not to say that life is terrible for everyone in all those places, just that I know I’m fortunate to have been given the life I have.

Yep, we can’t control those elements that shape our lives. All we can do is control how we respond to the things that happen to us, the opportunities we are given, and the people we meet. That’s why Thanksgiving is important—it reminds us to be humble and grateful for our good fortunes, and to put the bad stuff in perspective. If people could do that all year, the world would be a more tolerable place.

And that’s all I have to say about that.