The Giving of Thanks and Gratitude

Ahh, Thanksgiving.

That great festival of excess, often far removed from the actual idea of gratitude, muffled by the rumble of stampeding Black Friday shoppers.

Of course, I did not grow up with Thanksgiving, seeing as how it isn't "a thing" in Denmark. My first exposure came when I was invited to Thanksgiving by my American host family the year I arrived in Texas for University.

What struck me was that there was so much food and football, and so little time given to gratitude. But I guess that is the way of most holidays... they quickly turn from celebration to commercial opportunity.

I did definitely enjoy the turkey, brussells sprouts and apple pie... and I still do!

One of the things I often did for Thanksgiving during "the Texas years" was go for a long walk and soak up the relative silence that comes with a day when most commerce stops. At least it used to be that way... although these days it seems like Thursday is just another day to go shopping.

So, speaking of Thanksgiving, one of the things I am thankful for is that I am not very inclined to being a "consumer."

The kids (now in their mid-30s) were here and the inevitable question of Christmas presents came up, and I recognized that there really isn't anything I want or need. Some of that, I suppose, is simply the result of getting older and entering that stage of life where we are more inclined to get rid of things than to add more.

But not all of it.

I was never big into "stuff," although I invariably ended up with a fair bit of it, mostly "by relationship."

I guess society teaches many people to find their sense of self-worth through the size of the pile of "stuff" they manage to accumulate.

Much of my gratitude for Thanksgiving is really more dedicated to intangibles like good health, and slightly more tangible things like family, having a place to garden, and our cats.

But I also find myself wishing for certain things... such as the hope that our rapidly eroding "freedoms" here in the USA won't all vanish into some strange totalitarian dictatorship.

Ironically, I lived under one such — in early 1970's Spain — and I frankly don't relish the idea of experiencing (once again) the uneasy feeling that you might suddenly "be disappeared" for nothing more than wearing the wrong color shoes or not having the right haircut.

"Papers please!"

Next week, holiday "show season" begins, and I need to get my act together...

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great December!

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Created at 2025.11.30 23:29 PST
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