Thanksgiving

I've been trying to write this post now for nearly 3 days. I keep running into some reason not to finish it every time I start. I have to ask myself why giving thanks is so difficult for us. Why do we need a holiday to ritualize what would otherwise be called a spiritual discipline? Why do we need to se aside a single day out of the year to count our blessings? And why is the day after thanksgiving a day that the majority of Americans go out and plunge themselves into consumer debt?

I think giving thanks is often more difficult than it appears at first glance. Sure, I can say that I'm thankful for my health, my beautiful wife, a loving and supportive family etc. Which of course I am truly and deeply thankful. Is this what G-d wants from me though? Does He want my laundry list and a "thank you"each year at Thanksgiving?

I think giving thanks is more difficult than it appears because to truly give thanks we have to be willing to engage in the spiritual discipline of giving thanks. That might mean giving thanks daily even when I don't necessarily want to. That might mean giving thanks for something that I'm not thankful for but that I know is the best choice for me. That might mean giving thanks for G-d's ever present hand in our daily lives.

I think that the spiritual discipline of thanksgiving is both difficult and very important in my daily life. I think it has a tremendous power to transform my attitude towards others and towards my world if I'll let it.

For me, each Thanksgiving holiday brings with it that bitter-sweet taste of trial and victory for the past year. Life is like that, no one escapes the challenges that life provides but we overcome them in our own unique ways. That is one of the things that makes us each so special in G-d's sight, the way we triumph over our difficulties.

So, why do we need a holiday? We don't. The holiday for me is a convenient mechanism to "check in" on myself and see how I'm progressing in my own spiritual discipline of giving thanks. It prepares and focuses me in for another year of seeing G-d's greatness in the tiniest of details. It allows me to "take stock" of the past year and see what I missed. It provides an opportunity to look across the table and see the gloriously crazy and wonderful people that G-d has assembled in my life and to simply give thanks for their complete uniqueness in the universe.

Most of all, Thanksgiving allows me to see that G-d has a rich and wonderful sense of humor. I am loved by a G-d who laughs... Don't believe me? This thanksgiving, in the midst of the festivities look at the person next to you and try and see them through G-d's eyes. See them as the little children they are before an infinite G-d. See them as the wonderfully cleansed and blessed creatures they are in Christ and see if you don't feel a little giggle coming on when you compare that vision to that person you know burned all the hair off of your barbie dolls...

That single vision and instance of G-d's sense of humor can change our perception of giving thanks forever. G-d doesn't need a somber recitation of all of the wonderful things that He has allowed us ownership and stewardship of. He knows already, and it was His good pleasure to give them. This year try and give thanks in fun, small ways. In a childlike manner. Thank G-d for the crisp and fresh fall air when it freezes your nose and you can see your breath in the morning. Thank G-d for the beautiful spouse that brings you so much love when you catch a glimpse of them doing something for themselves. Give thanks for the beautiful curiosity that pulses through our souls the next time you notice something out of the ordinary. By giving thanks in this way you can begin the discipline of thanksgiving in your daily life.

What about "Black Friday"? Why is Thanksgiving flanked by the biggest spending day of the year? It's such an important day for retailers than many of them hinge their annual reports on this single day of profits! Why do we spend so fitfully on the day after our day of thanks? Is it the turkey coma that sends us over the edge? My personal take on "Black Friday" is that our spending spree is a volatile slurry of good feelings and guilt all piled together.

Good feelings because we've just eaten ourselves into oblivion and spent time with family and friends. We're feeling fairly happy. Guilt because we could have done more, we have so much, we could always be more thankful for the loved ones that we have. I should have sent them a nicer gift. Why don't we spend more time with them? Why do I dread seeing them every year? Now, who exactly is uncle Marty and how is he related? The list goes on and on. We feel guilty because our re-connections highlight our disconnections throughout the year. To make ourselves feel better about this discrepancy we spend. That's my armchair psychological theory in a nutshell.

What I can take away from all of this is that being grateful and staying connected can have several benefits, the least of which is monetary and the greatest of which is being allowed to see G-d's wonderful hand in the lives of those around me. If I can give thanks each day then Thanksgiving is merely a time to reflect on G-d's goodness and eat myself into a triptophan haze. This isn't an altogether bad plan of action.

Today I want to give thanks. Today I want to say "Thank you" and each day I will choose to do once again.

Thanks.