You’re wandering through the mall looking for the perfect dress to wear to Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas fills the stores, Autumn decor is already in the sale aisle, and jingle bells are ringing. The capitalistic world feels the need to rush so quickly from one season to the next, specifically focusing on the winter holidays. As soon as the end-of-the-year holidays are over, Valentine’s Day is almost guaranteed to take over marketing campaigns everywhere. It seems that with each passing year, the hype around holidays is starting and ending earlier. Fourth of July in mid-June, Halloween as soon as September rolls around, and Christmas beginning as soon as the first of November hits. It’s time to stop under-appreciating Thanksgiving and to start embracing the season for all that it has to offer us.
We’re lucky enough to have a whole holiday season to remind us to be thankful for all that we have, yet we rush it by and are quick to act as if it pales in comparison to some of the more flashy, commercialized holidays. It’s easy to forget to slow down and give thanks for the most basic things that we have—shelter, clothing, food, access to education, good health, etc. We take these things for granted and forget that not everyone has their basic needs fulfilled or the ability to do the things that our health allows us to not have to think twice about doing.
Chances are that there are many people in our lives that are under-appreciated as well. The food service and retail workers that we encounter so frequently, our mentors and professors, and even our families and friends—they’re all people that we’re used to seeing on a daily basis. Thanksgiving provides us with a reminder to consciously note the role of these people in our lives. Call your mother, treat your best friend to coffee, write to your grandparents, and find ways to show those that you’re grateful for just how grateful you are for their positive presence in your life.
Thanksgiving brings into focus is the fact that we are often a generation that complains far too much. I don’t want to go to the gym. I can’t stand this class. This food isn’t very good. We can dig up a complaint for most of the things that we do everyday, but, by shifting our perspective in a more positive direction, we can make the seemingly mundane tasks of daily life feel like the true privilege that they are. I get to go to the gym because I am healthy enough. I have the opportunity to learn something new. I’m so lucky to have food to nourish my body.
By slowing down to enjoy the Thanksgiving season and all that it has to offer us, we open ourselves up to the possibility of gaining insight into the lives of others, perspective on our own daily lives, and a new appreciation for those we love and care about. And guess what? Christmas will still be waiting to greet us with open arms after the leftover turkey is finished!
Featured image via Askar Abayev on Pexels
