In the crazy, hectic world we live in today, sometimes it’s hard to remember why we gather together every last Thursday in November. We’re so busy checking off our grocery lists, getting the house in order, cooking for days or traveling long distances that when it actually comes to Thanksgiving Day, we’ve worn ourselves out! If we’re not careful, we’ll let Thanksgiving pass us by unjoyfully as it becomes the ultimate to-do project instead of a special time set aside to pause and reflect on the abundance life gives—not necessarily in monetary or material form, but in sustenance, love and support.
Each year Thanksgiving gets a little shorter. This is evident in our retail-oriented culture. Thanksgiving Day is no longer a sacred day to spend with those you love, giving thanks for what you have or lending a helping hand to others who don’t have as much. No, for many, it’s just the day you have to wait through before Black Friday shopping begins. But now, you don’t even have to wait. You can go shopping on Thanksgiving afternoon to get the ultimate deal on that extravagant item you just can’t live without. One man’s desire for an “unbeatable” price on a new television or smartphone is traded for another man’s Thanksgiving meal, a meal the big-box retailer clerk won’t enjoy with his or her family this year. As a culture, it seems we’re being programmed to think we need more on the very day designated to be thankful for what we already have. As more retailers open their doors earlier and earlier on Thanksgiving Day, the specialness of the day fades away—if we let it.
But we have a choice. Let’s preserve the day for what it’s intended for—even if our year didn’t turn out as we had hoped, I know there is something all of us can reflect on and be thankful for in our lives.
So, if yesterday you got a little wrapped up in cooking the perfect turkey, setting the perfect table, cleaning up after the big meal or even doing a little Christmas shopping, why not take a little time today to reflect on what you have this year and tell others what you’re thankful for? I’ll do the same here.
This year, I’m particularly thankful for a new job working at Hobby Farms with kind and thoughtful coworkers who I can count on. I’m thankful for my loving husband who scrapes the ice and snow off my car for me in the mornings because he knows how I’m miserable in cold weather. I’m thankful for family near and far who call to wish me a happy birthday or send a card to say they’re thinking of me. I’m thankful for my baby girl who is growing in my belly, an unborn child that fills me with a sense of newfound awe of human life and my place in the world. I’m thankful for my old friends who know me and make me feel at home. I’m thankful for my dog and cat who greet me at the door and bring a smile to my face every day.
There is so much more I can say, but now it’s your turn! What are you thankful for in 2013? Share below, and check out this video about what our animal friends are giving thanks for this year.
« More Farm Inspiration »
