Thanksgiving 2015: Share Your Appreciation Day (Updated and reposted from 11/23/2015)

 

When we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways - either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits, or by using the challenge to find our inner strength. Thanks to the teachings of Buddha, I have been able to take this second way.

-- Dalai Lama

 

What are you thankful for?  Oh, let's get past the bullshit we know everyone wants to hear.  What are you, unselfishly and truly, thankful for? I'm thankful that my Mom and Dad didn't suffer long before they passed.  I'm thankful that the rest of my family has good health.  I'm so thankful my kids and grandkids are healthy and doing well for themselves.  I am thankful I have been there when people have needed me.  And, I am thankful to have known my ex-wife.

Selfishly, we tend to be "thankful" for our lifestyle, our many loves, and the food on the table.  Our real thanks should go to those who make life worth living - those around us; family, friends, and those we don't yet know.  The checker at the supermarket, the guy dumping your trash, the bag lady standing on the corner or sleeping under the overpass, and the postman. All of these people add color to the canvas of our lives.  

We tend to focus on the pretty flowers in God's painting, and ignore the background which gives it meaning; the backstory that makes the subject pop out at us.  What is the point of interest in the photo at the beginning of this article?  the photo above?  Is it the beggar, or the multitude too busy with their own selfish lives to concern the beggar with more than a cursory glance?  Is it the drabness of the poor clothing, and blanket, in contrast to the surroundings and the reds and blues of the passerby? Or is it the guilt we feel by just looking at it?  

Guilt is a strong emotion that, though denial, drives the selfishness in most of us.  We look at the poor that inhabit our streets and think to ourselves, "Not my circus, not my monkey." We know full well it is our circus, and we are the clowns running it.  These poor exist because we allow it, nurture it, and then ignore or ridicule it.  It is a sad cycle of "sociological sado-masochism" we cannot seem to break.

So, what am I thankful for, selfishly?  I'm thankful that I'm not a beggar.  I'm thankful I was given an upbringing that instilled in me the strength to carry on in the face of adversity; the strength to carry on when all seems lost.  I'm thankful for loving friends who have helped me when I have fallen.  I'm thankful for those in the military who serve to keep us safe so we may continue to enjoy the fruits of our labor.  I am thankful for my God, and my faith in something greater than myself. And, I am selfishly thankful, to be allowed another chance, each morning, to excel at whatever task or challenge, God might throw my way.

Take this season, from Thanksgiving to Christmas, to reflect on what you are truly thankful for. Think about those that don't have a pot to piss in.  Think about those who own nothing, of any value, to be selfish about.  

I have seen the poorest of the poor, on the street, take an offering of a stranger and share it with their lot, their friends; an act, the mere idea of which, would escape many of us.  Maybe it's time we consider sharing half our sandwich.  Maybe, it's time to reach down and take the beggar by the hand, look them in the eye, and tell them you see them.  They are not invisible to you; they do not disappear into the background of the life God painted for you.

This season, just don't say "thank you" for the service that people risk their all to keep us safe and secure.  Thank more than just our military members.  Thank the police, the firemen, and all those first responders who risk their lives when called.  This season, learn to shake their hands and give them a hug.  God knows they deserve it. More, they deserve to hear it... before they die in service to us.

This season, if you are thankful for someone, let them know.  Tell them and explain by telling them why?  Your reason will mean so much more than just the thanks for the job well done.  You might learn more about yourself for the effort.

“We join spokes together in a wheel,

but it is the center hole

that makes the wagon move. 

We shape clay into a pot,

but it is the emptiness inside

that holds whatever we want. 

We hammer wood for a house,

but it is the inner space

that makes it livable. 

We work with being,

but non-being is what we use.”

-- Lao Tzu

This season, learn to recognize that, sometimes, it is what you don't have that makes life worth living.  Sometimes, it is what we don't see that is our true blessing. And, what we don't hear, has the greatest meaning.  Sometimes, what we do with the "empty space" will make our lives and the lives of those around us, worth living.  Maybe we should spend more time focusing on this empty space.

I wish, for all of my readers, the happiest of the season.  God bless all of us, and God bless these United States!

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch - it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either view any more right or wrong than the other. Opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form their own opinions, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint.

I fervently hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning those opinions offered. After twenty-three years of military intelligence, I believe that engaging each other in this manner, and in this arena, is a way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience... and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. Following his service career, he spent 17 years working with the premier and world-renowned Western Institutional Review Board, helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. He also served 8 years on the Board of Directors for the Angela J. Bowen Foundation.

Ordained in 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As a weapon for his war on intolerance, he chose the pen. He wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's personal, spiritual path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteered as the lead chaplain at a regional medical center.

Feel free to contact Pastor Tony at: tolerantpastor@gmail.com