What Are You Thankful For?
In It Together
By David R. Basler
When I sit down to write this column each month, I always strive to speak on a global level about a topic that is important to our industry and, ideally, covered in this month’s issue. This time I thought I would break the mold a bit.
It’s November, and as an American that means the month of Thanksgiving.
For Canadians, Thanksgiving has already passed (October), and for many other nations numerous “Thanks for the Harvest” traditions take place throughout the year—United Kingdom in September, India celebrates in January and April and Israel celebrates with Sukkoth (“Feast of the Tabernacles”) in the late fall as well.
Thanksgiving is my favorite of all the year’s holidays. As a good friend of mine once reminded me, “Unlike Christmas, Thanksgiving is a chance to gather as family and friends without all the need to bring gifts.”
Don’t get me wrong, I love any holiday that brings family and friends together, but Thanksgiving has always been my favorite for just this reason. It’s an honest, simple holiday that focuses on our blessings from the previous year and our hopes for the next. What better way to look at life?
It’s a way we should all think about life every day not just on Thanksgiving. So as the focus of this column I would like to share with you a few things I am thankful for every day of the year.
1. Forgetting the doctor’s phone number—Because it means my family is healthy.
2. Picking up the phone for no reason other than to say “hi”—Because it means I have friends who care and know I care about them.
3. Aching muscles and a tired mind—Because it means I have worked hard and that my brain has been challenged all day.
4. Yard work, vacuuming and cleaning windows—Because it means I have a house my family can come home to every day.
5. A dirty uniform—Because it means those who wear it have kept my family and me safe and our freedoms intact.
What are you thankful for? I have posted an entry titled “What Are You Thankful For?” on our PlusPoint blog and invite you all to log on and contribute to the list and see what your fellow members have on theirs. Enjoy and make it a great upcoming year.
DAVID R. BASLER is editor in chief of One+. He can be reached at dbasler@mpiweb.org. Follow him at www.twitter.com/onepluseditor.