Gratitude or Greed

  Gratitude, so much has been written and conveyed about the meaning of this word.  Is it a thought, a feeling or an emotion? Some say it is state of mind, others believe gratitude is an attitude. I believe that true gratitude is a feeling that resides within the heart.  It is the point when you are truly content with where you are in your life and what you have.  There comes a moment when you realize that you are not longing for something more you have all that you need. Gratitude aligns with peace and it reflects contentment.

  Gratitude has one day a year designated in its honor.  In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln declared the fourth Thursday in the month of November as national day of gratitude. For the past one hundred and forty some years Americans have enjoyed quite times surrounded by family, friends feasts and of course football! Thanksgiving Day is purely a day to just be.  We share our homes and our hearts. Family traditions take precedence.  Traditions may be in the form of a particular dish that must be on the Thanksgiving table, or it may be a certain blessing that is always recited or a story told.  Some make it an annual event to volunteer their time. They serve a hot meal to those who otherwise would not have one. It is a time to reflect on our blessings whether they are large, small or somewhere in between.  

     This past Saturday I did my usual weekly grocery shopping at Walmart.  With my cart full I made my way to the cashiers stationed at register number twelve.  I always enjoy my conversations with the person scanning and bagging my purchases.  Saturday, stationed at register twelve was one of my favorite cashiers.  I wish I could share this woman’s name with you, but it escapes me.  I can tell you that she works extremely hard, smiles widely and believes in the goodness of life.

 

  As I was unloading my groceries from my cart and placing them on the conveyer belt I said to her “So how many turkeys have you scanned this week?”

 Her reply was “Really, not that many.”

 I was shocked.  I thought she was going to tell me how she threw out her back passing hundreds of twenty pound turkeys across the cash register scanner! 

  So then I asked “What are you doing for the holiday?  Cooking or visiting?” 

 “Neither” she replied.  “I am working.  I will cook my turkey on Monday and celebrate the holiday then.”

 “What?” I said.  “You are working?”

  “Yes” she answered. 

  “Walmart is open on Thanksgiving Day?” I asked. 

  “Of course” she said.

   I realize that there are people who have always had to work on holidays. Traditionally they were essential personnel, nurses, firemen and policemen.  As the years have progressed restaurant workers, movie theater operators were also pressed into duty on this holiday.  Soon thereafter cashiers, shelf stockers and cart wranglers arose from their slumber the day after Thanksgiving to man the stores for the five a.m. door buster Christmas shopping specials.  Many times they passed lines of people who camped out in front of the store the night before just so that they could get the latest electronic gadget or save an additional twenty percent off the purchase prices.

  Where has the simplicity of life gone, why do we need to shop on Thanksgiving Day instead of continuing to enjoy our family, friends and traditions?  At what point did corporate profits overtake the importance of gratitude?  “Black Friday” is the day that the retailers traditionally turn the red ink financial losses of the year into the black, or profits. The Friday referred to is of course the day after Thanksgiving.  But now “Black Friday” sales are creeping into Thanksgiving Day.  Walmart will be open all day and with the turkey and stuffing barely digested Target and Sears will open their doors at nine p.m.  Is getting a discount on a television set or a reduced price on an i-pad more important than spending time together? Has greed overtaken gratitude on our priority list?   When did possessions become more important than relationships?   How many people when facing their mortality voice their disappointment about not possessing more things during their life?  Isn’t the resounding regret shared that I wish I had spent more time with my family and friends?

     Here is a simple thought, if we don’t show up to shop on Thanksgiving Day or night for that matter the retailers may not open their stores at these times next year.  Take a stand and don’t allow commercial advertising and mounds of sales flyers to lure you into believing that you must shop on Thanksgiving to secure the best Christmas gifts. Enjoy Thanksgiving; don’t use it to prepare for Christmas!    

   Recently, the northeastern part of the United States experienced some very trying and difficult times.   A powerful force named Sandy slammed into our neighborhoods and up ended our lives.  Damages ranged from severe to moderate to relatively mild, but each of us was affected in some way.  I was fortunate to be limited to several broken tree branches and the loss of electricity for five days.  With each passing day that I was without power my frustration mounted.  But I kept saying to myself….at least I have a roof over my head and my family is with me.  I was not transported thousands of feet away by the wind, surf and sand.  I may be inconvenienced, but my family and I are okay, we are safe. I may have been cold and tired of living in the dark but I was grateful.

   The television news reports and internet pictures documented the damage sustained along the eastern shore lines.  I have listened to the person who now possess only that which resides upon their back and that within a small bag, and yet they speak about how grateful they are.  Their families are safe.  Then you see in the distance the possessions that had defined their lives are heaped within the piles of rubble being hauled off by a bull dozer. Even within their frustration and despair they are grateful.  As much as these people may need new items I doubt they will be shopping the Black Friday sales.  They do not have a permanent home to put the things in and they probably won’t for a long while to come. 

  No one can tell you to be grateful, it must come from within.  Gratitude has its own unique essence. you experience it, feel it and allow its warmth to cloak you.

   Thanksgiving night as I drift off to sleep wrapped within my warm bed, being both physically and emotionally full from enjoying my day of gratitude I will think the people who are in the stores working and shopping.  I will send them a wish and a hope.  My wish for them is to slow down and reflect on life’s simple gifts.  The ones that cannot be bought nor sold and I will hope that they will connect with the place within their hearts where gratitude resides.