I don't quite remember when my mom started the practice, but she used to go around the table at Thanksgiving and make everybody say something they were thankful for.
Most of the time I would conjur up something to appease her so that I could dig into the turkey and mashed potatoes.
I realize now that Thanksgiving has become a type of religion for a lot of people. We pile into homes with friends and family for our annual gluttonous activities.
Rarely do people take the time to actually be thankful for what they have. Maybe for a moment at the table they have some ritualistic list, like I used to have.
Or maybe they take a second on that particular day and think about their blessings. The fortunate things in life.
When I look around at the current state of things, I don't think any of us are doing it enough. Thankfulness—Thanksgiving—is not burdened upon you.
It isn't a tradition. It's not an obligation. If it were, then we wouldn't be able to call it Thanksgiving.
It takes work to show up every day with a gratuitous heart. You actually have to understand the things in your life that provide infinite value. The things that are priceless.
You can't do that in a prompting from someone at a table. It's done in the dark. Your heart has already decided its position long before you're obliged to give an account for the people and things you hold most dear.
Thanksgiving isn't a ritual. It's not a prompt. It's not a test, a goal, or something on your to-do list. It's an action.
It’s a continual and conscious effort of the heart to remember why you are where you are. To remember the reasons you wake up every day.
We only really reap the benefits of giving thanks and showing gratitude if we're authentic and the sentiment is genuine.
There's really no other way that thanks-giving can happen.