Being Thankful around Thanksgiving

By Tom Lunney

Once again we have another Thanksgiving holiday coming and folks all over our country and abroad are gearing up for the day.  Some will have masses of family over and a feast.  Some will be eating off of Styrofoam plates with whatever the mess hall has prepared.  And some will go to their local shelter and be served by strangers who come to share Thanksgiving from their homes with those who do not have that choice. Why do we do this?  Because we can mostly. Because it makes us feel good.  Because we like remembering past holidays when we were small or our kids were small or when a loved one was still with us or when we were back in our own country.  The feeling of being surrounded by those you love and those who love you gives our brains a rest, allows for deep breaths, and gives us hope for our future. How does this apply to business. Besides Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and e-Commerce Monday, most of us are off on Thanksgiving.  Even most self-employed individuals will take Thanksgiving Day off.  Some are blessed to be able to spend the day with family.  Some are blessed to be able to spend the day with their fellow military family.  Some are blessed just to be alive.  And some are blessed to have a day to themselves for reflection on their past. A day of thanks is a mindset and an internal decision. It is also a decision of your heart to either be blessed or to be cursed. I had to see my foot doctor today which is always a very painful experience.  As he was performing his task (no details here) it is my job to sit there and hold my leg, foot, and toes still so he can do his professional job.  The relief is immediate, and only last 30 days, but it works.  And it hit me how blessed I was to be able to come and get the type of help I needed to live a better life. So I wished him a Happy Thanksgiving.  I went to the internal staff and wish all of them a Happy Thanksgiving. I then wish every patient I passed a Happy Thanksgiving.  I stopped at the front desk and wished all of them a Happy Thanksgiving.  I passed a very hurried and busy mom on my way out and wished her a Happy Thanksgiving.  And the reaction was 100% unanimous. Everyone smiled back at me.  Whatever they were thinking, whatever they we doing, whatever their lives were experiencing right then, they all stopped what they were doing and felt good just because some stranger wished them a Happy Thanksgiving. I wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving also.  Now go about your day with a smile on your lips and wish every person you see a Happy Thanksgiving.  It will make their day, and it will make yours also.