We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude (Cynthia Ozick). This quote says a lot because it’s the truth. We do ignore the very things that deserve our gratitude, whether the things are big or small.
Throughout the year people take hundreds of things for granted, and we show very little gratitude for all the things that we have. We hardly ever say things like “thank you” and “please” anymore to anyone at all.
Thanksgiving is one of the only times of the year that people actually take into account what they have taken for granted. Families gather together to count their blessings and to show their thanks for what they’ve been given.
For years people have had their own interpretation of Thanksgiving and its meaning. My interpretation is what my mother has always told me about thankfulness and gratitude.
I was raised to believe that I should be thankful for everything I have including my health and the health of my family. My mom always said that we shouldn’t take anything for granted because we never know what day will be our last.
For the last 16 years, my mom has been telling me this, and the older I’ve gotten, the more I understand what she means. When I was younger, I couldn’t really understand what she meant when she said those things, but now I do.
What she meant was, we can’t ignore the things we take for granted each day. Especially the little things like a friend talking to you or spending time with your loved ones.
Thanksgiving can mean one thing to one person and another to a different person, but there is one thing that every meaning has, and that one thing is gratitude. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow (Melody Beattie)