extremely thankful...every day

(the photo is a Brian Andreas print from the Story People)

Of all the good emotions – joy, contentment, happiness, hope, inspiration, excitement, awe, gratitude and love – gratitude is the easiest for me. (Of course, I love those I love dearly, but loving unconditionally, especially when faced with diversity, is not easy…) Being thankful, however, just flows out of my heart and the older I get the easier being overwhelmed with thankfulness seems to be.  

November is the “official” month of thankfulness and I have been focusing more than usual on how very much I have to be thankful for. The list of blessings is so long…Lately thinking of even the smallest of these brings tears to my eyes. (I’d think it was hormones, but I’m long past that type of turmoil, so I’m assuming it’s just a full heart finally bubbling over...)

I’ve not always lived in this state of extreme thankfulness. I’m a pessimist whose glass is more than half empty. Doom and gloom lurk around every corner and disaster is imminent.  There have been times when I paid more attention to the wolves at the door than the warmth inside the house. There have been times when my heart felt cold and shut, when the world seemed harsh and I could see little to be thankful for. During those times, someone or something always appears to whisper rumors of a thaw, gently in my ear…”This too shall pass”…”The sun will shine again”… “Things really will be okay”…And eventually they are and the pessimist turns thankful again.

There are also times when the depth and breadth and sheer scope of all the hurt and pain and death and evil in the world begin to overwhelm me. A devilish whisper says I should feel guilty in the face of all this terribleness, that all this flippant thankfulness is of no use, that the world really is a dark place…”Be a lamp or a lifeboat or a ladder,” the poet Rumi counters…”Look for the helpers,” Mr. Rogers’ wise mother said…

Over the years my pessimism and my thankfulness have learned to co-exist and these days they actually seem to help each other out. When every day could turn sour with some disaster or misstep, each day that ends uneventfully is truly something to be thankful for. And, I don’t mean that at all flippantly.   

So many people I know are struggling with illness or lack of work or money troubles or family issues – it’s been a tougher year of struggles than I remember in a long time. I watch these brave people and admire them. I reach out when I can; I also knock on wood a lot and thank the Lord for their strength, knowing that I don’t share it. If you doubt that you can get through whatever looms large and difficult ahead, it’s easy to be extremely thankful for each quiet well-blessed day.   

“Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion,” said Truvy Jones in Steel Magnolias. It’s mine, too.

So, this Thanksgiving, may you enjoy laughter through tears, a heart overflowing with thankfulness and a day so uneventful that it leaves you feeling very well blessed.