Thanksgiving (TG)

Tomorrow is that blessed day, which occurs only once a year. Everyone gets together to celebrate giving thanks. It started out as pilgrims giving thanks for a harvest after they all starved their first winter, but now it's really all about the food.

I mean, what would Thanksgiving be without the turkey, cranberry sauce (with the rings), stuffing, gravy, black olives in dishes, corn, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, a veritable barrage of pies and all those people to eat it with you?

You could still give thanks. Right? I mean, if thanksgiving in this country is so popular because of the strife and peril that our ancestors went through, shouldn't we honor that a little more? Did they sacrifice so we could stuff our faces into a food coma? I don't think so. They sacrificed for religious rights, freedom, and for some, just for the spirit of adventure to see unseen lands.

I wish our country was a lot more like that of old. Where people put in a days hard work and felt the satisfaction from the sweat and blood and tears. They lived with the seasons and felt alive! How many people these days aren't connected to life? People have eye strain because of how much time they spend on the computer or watching TV. Spines have curved due to all the sitting, and abs of steel are only found in gyms.

So tomorrow, I propose giving thanks for accomplished tasks or of hardships now past, instead of being thankful for our material possessions, large bank accounts, or prestige. We should all be thankful for the things that aren't so tangible. Family willing to look past our shortcomings, friends who have our back through think and thin, good work ethics which help us achieve more out of our life and for accomplishing something meaningful on an individual level. Maybe people should be thankful that they can be the change they want to see in the world. They just need the courage to try.