Echo Beach

There is a joke I've been wearing out. It goes “In light of the events in Florida this Thanksgiving, everyone should be sure to recount their blessings.” I've told it often enough where people are beginning to smile tolerantly, reminding me that they've heard it. Sometimes a humorous line will stick in my head and keep me chuckling for days. Or perhaps it becomes my mantra for a while, taking me through some of the mundane tasks or getting me through some relatively difficult times.
Thanksgiving is indeed upon us. Let's face it, a lot of us forget what it's about. Look in our personal dictionaries and we'll find:
“Thanksgiving: derived from the words ‘Thanks’ meaning Turkey and ‘Give’ meaning Stress; a holiday celebrating too much food, stressful preparations, and augmenting familial conflicts, like that time Uncle Phil drove the car through the hedge.”
I don't have an Uncle Phil so I can say that without suffering any "Thanksgiving".
In truth, lest I lose my train of thought, Thanksgiving is just that, Giving Thanks, counting our blessings. Despite all the woes that we may be suffering, there will always, always be something to be thankful for. These blessings need to be acknowledged. If we focus on the things we are not thankful for then eventually the blessings will fade. We will lose sight of them or forget about them. Those blessing may still be there, but we won't realise it. That some of what this holiday is about, remembering our blessings.
I forget that sometimes. I'm so used to my familiar and familial surroundings that I take it for granted. Yes, we have conflicts, and sometimes the conflicts are serious enough to divide the family, or current events are so worrisome that we neglect those things that make our lives worth while. But we still have blessings. My blessings are many. As a friend of mine just pointed out, I have good caring friends. I have a good and caring family. We may not agree on everything, but we still care [admit it, Uncle Phil!]. I have a very loving wife. I have a creative heart. I love to write. I love to draw. Even if I haven't tended to those pastimes, I still love to do them.
We give lip service to counting our blessings. We go through the motions and enjoy a meal. I'm sure most of us actually do focus on those blessings and are grateful. But sometimes, just sometimes, we may get so overwhelmed with preparation for the pending holidays, or trying to make things just right, or we get so overwhelmed by news from abroad, that we forget the things we have that give us pleasure. Sometimes we focus so much on the negative, that we forget our blessings.
So what started off as a joke may have turned into a poignant point. We give lip service to counting our blessings. Perhaps we should take the time to focus on them.... to recount them.