“Time always marches on. With or without us.”
This will be the saddest Thanksgiving since 2001. At last count over 260,000 American souls have perished due to Covid19. Many traditional activities for Thanksgiving are set aside this year. Americans usually travel significantly for Thanksgiving and the airports are a hub of activity. This year, quiet corridors may be the sad reality.
And those measurements are broad based. For those of you who lost loved ones this year to this (or any other cause) there will be empty seats around the dinner table and many of you will not celebrate Thanksgiving at all because of the restrictions. My heart goes out to all of you who are sad and missing someone they loved so much. It is a deep pain the first year when we lose someone close. I wish for all of you to reflect and remember the special bonds you held and treasure them always. Those loved ones want you to carry forward and carry on.
I have a personal wish for my friends and family in the USA (I am Canadian). Enjoy this day as best possible. If you have a small family gathering, take heart that you can. Many of us spend the day alone or working. Keeping the economies going you know. Is that not a sad reflection on all of us? That we cannot walk away from business even for a day? In some cases, people do not have a choice. This year more than ever has fallen hard on the doctors, nurses and health care providers and specialists. Let us think about them and the sacrifices they have made this year. Thanksgiving is about showing gratitude and giving thanks for what we have. Not for what we do not have yet.
I hope that all of us worldwide celebrate this day with the USA. The USA has been a guiding light for freedom and democracy for well over a century. I for one am glad that the tradition of that is once again taking hold, and the chaos of the last four years ends. In celebrating your Thanksgiving, I think of that. It is a time for all of us to rally around each other, no matter who or where we are in the world. The world has shrunk in our ability to communicate with each other from vast distances. And yes, we have had that ability for some time, but it was extremely limited one hundred years ago compared to now. Radio was in its infancy. Now we have social media and so many channels to share, it is phenomenal. I am thankful for that this year. Being at home more than usual because of the pandemic has opened this world up for us. I say, we should be grateful and thankful that we can stay connected. Many people are working from home and it may be their permanent situation.
The simple things in life that make a substantial difference are not limited to only one day on Thanksgiving. We can carry things forward. How are you? Hello. Greeting strangers is not hard to do. It can be extremely rewarding. So, think about how you can be positive in life without much effort. You will be amazed at how that impacts you. It will raise you up in daily life, in your close relationships and in your work.
There are many things that Thanksgiving can achieve if we are truly thankful and grateful. We can slow our lives down a little and not feel guilty. We can make a point to contact friends and family more frequently no matter where we are. It is easy today. And carry some kindness forward for everyone else. Be more giving for the poor, the elderly, the lonely, the sick, the disadvantaged. It is not hard to do. And if enough of us carry those precious attitudes we can make a difference.
Be thankful because the world has many large issues which may increasingly interfere in our lives. I understand that people are worried about this pandemic and future ones. The next “pandemic” could be famine. We need to begin preparations for that eventuality now. I am thankful that open minded, visionary leadership is returning to the world stage. Here in North America, we have been insulated from global events in the past. Wars, disease, and famine. It was the clear and steady hand of democracy that made that possible. Democracy and capitalism. Capitalism may have been attacked with great force as greed prevailed the last many years. Obsession by our leaders on the financial markets, the Dow Jones, has damaged the power of capitalism. Karma. Capitalism is our way out of the huge problems we face today because it has always been faster and more efficient in achieving remarkable things. Can we mix in some socialism? Yes. Universal Health Care and education (up to grade 12) and maybe a few other areas that could benefit from some measures of socialism.
Be thankful. Be thankful that we live in an amazing world with resilience. We honor those who gave their lives for all of us. In the past and especially those this year.
Celebrate Thanksgiving with some measure of solemn thought.
Happy Thanksgiving.
