A few years ago, when I was working at Yahoo, I encountered a lucky soul that celebrates Thanksgiving 365 days a year. He is almost always in a good mood.
We were passing out gift certificates to employees, having some cake in the break room and knocking off early the Weds before Turkey Day. My admin got into a conversation with one of our maintainence employees about how much she was looking forward to Thanksgiving. She asked him, “what are you doing special tomorrow?” and he softly replied, “It will be another day, with too much food cooked, which we’ll share with our friends and neighbors. Besides the sharing part, it’s a typical day for us, because every day we give thanks for this bounty.”
He and his family had moved to California from central Mexico several years before, and he was now a citizen with gainful employment and a way to send his two kids to college. “We never thought this could happen for us, and when it did, we made the decision that every day was Thanksgiving,” he continued. “Except Nov 25, and that’s the day we make more than we need. Then we have a ball feeding others with it. We can afford that once a year!”
This is the true spirit of what the Pilgrims meant when they set aside a day to give thanks. They never thought they’d find a new home, with so much bounty to feast on. Here’s my takeaway: as Billye taught me, ‘gratitude is a muscle, not a feeling. If it were a feeling, you’d be feeling it all time!’
I’m going to find a Thanksgiving signal in every day, from home to work or even as I run errands. I’ll rethink Nov 25 as a day I demonstrate my gratitude by helping others find their bounty. This way, my focus will be on what I have to share, and not what I lack.
What are you thankful for, every day of your life!? Tell us in comments and exercise your gratitude muscle.
