This Season of Thanksgiving

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.”
~Melody Beattie

This Thanksgiving is going to be one for the ages. With all that is happening in our world, our country, and quite possibly our own homes, this season of thanksgiving is in greater need than ever before. Beyond the turkey, pumpkin pie, and playful arguments over the value of cranberry sauce at the dinner table, Thanksgiving is going to have new meaning for us all. As well it should.

Originally, I wanted to write a piece on the perils of the lack of gratitude in the world, especially in modern Western civilization with all of our technology and life’s amenities.  To be honest though, that is exactly what the world doesn’t need right now: another lecture or condescension about why we are collectively crappy world citizens. Instead, it’s about time I embark on my own journey of self-reflection regarding why more gratitude and a full heart are what life needs. Hopefully, you will see the fullness of your life as well. 

First and foremost, I am thankful for the awesome family God has blessed me with. I have a beautiful wife to share life with, even if we don’t get everyday together, or every moment won’t appear in a Hallmark movie. She has taught me so much about myself, the good and the bad, even when I was reluctant to learn or listen. Thank you my dear for being you and helping me.

I have been blessed with two amazing sons, each unique in their talents and abilities, strengths and weaknesses, desires and dreams. Their uniqueness makes them especially warranting of my gratitude to their Creator and hopeful for their bright and prosperous futures. On top of these wonderful people in my immediate family, I have an extended family that stretches multiple states and countries. Without each and every one of them, my life would be so empty. Each has taught me some small lesson in life, good or bad, and helped shape me into the person I am today. Without them, I would be a shell of a human, devoid of the character and virtue that makes each of us a unique creation.

I am thankful for my church, my faith, and my God. Throughout my life, faith has been a very important, though sometimes sidelined aspect of my life story. It has shaped who I am, starting with my early days growing up in the Catholic church, attending Catholic school, learning the sacraments, and in my role as an altar server. Each step led me to a deeper faith and belief in God. As I moved on in life from the church that reared me in those early years, I grew into a deeper faith through friends and family who encouraged me to seek God on a personal level. I’ve developed a faith beyond doctrinal beliefs of one denomination and into one based in unwavering trust in the perfect nature of scripture. It has been a profound and miraculous journey.

I am thankful for a career I have loved, and a dream I have fulfilled. Not many of us get to say we are living and working our dream job. I am doing so, and I am grateful beyond measure. Through events outside my control, I have been sidelined for a time, but in the end, flying is the gift I have been given and one I intend to continue pursuing. I have been able to connect with people; hundreds upon thousands of them. It’s the fuel that drives me and the fuel that teaches me service and excellence. I don’t just want to be good at my job; I want to be exceptional at my job because this is what I was created to do. 

I am grateful for my health and well-being. I am approaching my mid-forties and can still pump out four to six miles, and wrestle with my boys. I have avoided major health issues and have been given the opportunity to do so many things and see so many phenomenal places. My job and my health have allowed for this to happen, without which my life experiences would be greatly limited and far less colorful. 

I am grateful for a spate, no a plethora, no a veritable, unending and absolutely diverse and loving group of friends. From my days as a wee tot in preschool (yes I am still in touch with my very first and best friend Scott), to my days as a budding airline pilot with a major airline, I have a diverse and eclectic group of people I am happy to call friends. My varied and far-flung work background alone has brought me into contact with people living across the globe, with varying backgrounds and life stories. Each with whom I have shared experiences and harrowing tales. Together my friends and I have shaped the stories of life. And I wouldn’t trade a single relationship for anything in the world. 

With all this said, there is only one conclusion I can come to: I have been blessed beyond measure with so much in this life of mine. I have much to be thankful for and many people to thank for it. And I will never stop being thankful for the life I have been given, through and by so many. I have much to give back to the world in gratitude for what I have been given. I pray I am given the opportunity to pass that grace and gratitude along to anyone who I have the pleasure of meeting and knowing.

This is a tough season we have all been going through, but in the end, our gratitude will keep us focused on what matters in life and not what gets us down. Focus on what you have so that you don’t miss it when it’s gone. I have been there.