Thanksgiving is just around the corner. And as longtime Words of the West readers know, I’m not one to gloss over that fact.
No, while many are excited to get a jump on their holiday shopping or decorate their homes in lights, I’m very much in the moment.
Thanksgiving means more than Family, Food and Football. It means reflecting on all we have to be thankful for.
It’s about gratitude. It’s about appreciation. It’s about humility.
These aren’t emotions we naturally wear on our chest. Mac Davis once sang “Lord, it’s hard to be humble,” and we’ve done little to dispute that claim since then. The rapid rise of tech entrepreneurs and the myth of the self-made man have fooled us into believing that success is solely in our hands.
It’s not.
Truth be told, many people play a supporting role in our life’s work. It starts with our parents, who take care of us when we’re too young to do so ourselves. It continues with our teachers, who help us expand our mind. Then come friends and significant others, who lift us up on an emotional level. And finally, there are all those who provide us opportunities, and allow us to build the life we want.
Think we’d be where we are without any of this? No chance.
Yet, we find it difficult to admit this. At least publicly.
I’m not sure why that is. Is it ego? Pride?
Regardless of the answer, Thanksgiving gets us back to our senses.
It reminds us that there’s actually great honor in humility. In being introspective on our own vulnerability and appreciative of all those who led us through the fire.
It demonstrates that we’re all part of something bigger. That our stories are intertwined and those connections are what truly matter.
I wish we took the time to recognize these principles more than once a year. That allowed ourselves to be vulnerable. To be grateful. To put others first.
But as it is, I’m glad there’s a moment between Halloween Candy and Christmas Trees when we can do all this. When we can rediscover the honor in humility and share it with the ones who matter to us most.
This year, let’s make sure that moment doesn’t pass us by.
Happy Thanksgiving.