Thursday, November 25, 2010

Living Thanksgiving

JOHN F. KENNEDY once said, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” Somewhere in this great landmass we call America, there are indeed a few folks doing just that – living Thanksgiving Day rather than just enacting it. Whether individually or with friends or family, there are a few among us who are not consumed with the holiday gluttony of turkey dinner, football and Black Friday. A few among us will contemplate the sheer abundance Providence has bestowed on America. A few of us will spend this day in quiet gratitude, awed by our good fortune. And perhaps that is enough. For as long as a few among us appreciate Thanksgiving’s true meaning, it mitigates the fact that most of us have long forgotten it, as we over-eat today and elbow each other at the mall tomorrow. Still, as author Ellen Orleans wryly put it, it is a “miracle that the concept of giving thanks even surfaces at all.” I guess that, too, is something.

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