Thanksgiving this year brings with it a heightened state of anxiety for some as the effects of the recent presidential campaign results linger. While freedom of speech is one of our most favorite constitutional amendments (of course), we believe it is time to set the political rhetoric aside and behave with more kindness, setting a better example as adults. We can have differing opinions while demonstrating respect. We do not have to “uninvite” ourselves to Thanksgiving dinner out of fear of where the conversation may turn. That is just silly and, in fact, lets fear take root, which is never healthy. Instead of letting fear get a grip on you, instead of practicing your rights as loudly and disruptively as possible, we suggest practicing something else; gratitude.
We can all do with a little more gratitude in our lives. What is gratitude? According to WikiLeaks … (too soon?), or rather the dictionary, gratitude is the “quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.” That sounds simple enough, but, in fact, it is something we need to practice every day. Did we stop being grateful? As kids we had nothing but gratitude. Every toy we received, every chance to spend time with a parent, every walk in the woods or sail out on the sound was awesome. We may not have identified it as gratitude, but that is what it was. As we grew to working adults and established careers, we lost some of that awesomeness. For some of us, we may have allowed a disillusioned adult perspective of life to take hold. In our rush to continually build the ideal vision of our lives we miss the moments when we can be thankful for what we accomplished along the way.
The practice of gratitude can be found in the origins of every major religion and even indigenous tribes as far apart as Australian Aborigines and the American Indians. Clearly, the practice of gratitude is important if it developed throughout the world independently when there was no communication capable of delivering such a consistent message. Gratitude is what allowed communities to develop and grow and thrive.
Go to any faith based community in town when they hold a service and listen closely, really closely, and you will hear words of gratitude being spoken, preached and prayed. We need to do a better job of hearing that message and incorporating it into our daily lives. Yes, this election was unlike any we had previously seen, but it is over. Let us be grateful for that. Let’s dial back the ongoing rhetoric and for those unhappy with this year’s results be grateful that in four years there is the opportunity affect change. Let us change intolerance into gratitude for we live in the greatest community in the greatest country. We can be grateful for Greenwich. Let us show gratitude for all that our community has to offer. Let us really show it.
Let us accept the challenge to live the definition of gratitude every day; be thankful, show appreciation and return kindness. You may be surprised. The more you practice gratitude, the more gratitude will befall you and that would not be a bad thing, would it? It may be too much to wish for, but wouldn’t be awesome if enough of us lived this way that there fewer honking horns, fewer nasty looks because of whatever bumper sticker is on our cars or fewer ill manners in the supermarket? It would certainly lessen people’s anxiety levels. We would be grateful for that.
Tomorrow, before you sit down for your Thanksgiving Day feast, stop. Take a moment to read through the 24 Acts of Kindness on our back page from a very kind neighbor and supporter of the paper. Then think of the five things for which you are grateful. Let’s start there. Happy Thanksgiving and thank you for reading our editorials each week.
