Hey All - it's a chilly Sunday Afternoon, so it's a perfect time for a good post.
This year, there is no shortage of things that are unpleasant and unwanted. We have a pandemic that has yet to be cured, we have people who have suffered from it, and we also have restrictions on our normal daily activities that have done seemingly more harm than good.
The vast majority of these things are events beyond our control. More than likely, we did not cause or contribute to them in any way.
This world was already filled with things that were uncomfortable, unfortunate, and undesirable. In 2020, these things seemingly snowballed.
Let's face it: There is not a single thing that we can do about COVID, about those who've contracted it, or about these inconvenient, stifling, and economy-harming restrictions put in place in response.
This means that Thanksgiving cannot be celebrated this week as it would otherwise be. The governing authorities seem to be divided over whether or not anyone should visit family, as is customarily done, and it remains doubtful whether or not it's a good idea to try it. Regardless of that argument, it's not the same Thanksgiving.
Nonetheless, the purpose of this holiday is to express gratitude for the things we do have, notwithstanding that which we're not happy to receive.
Speaking for myself, I am grateful for my wife, my family, and every friend I've made (in both real life and on social media), and thankful that they're all COVID negative. I am also grateful for the food we have for sustenance (for Thanksgiving and otherwise), our home, and our comforts. I am also grateful that my parents and in-laws are safe, that my professional career endured through the pandemic, and that are everyday needs are met notwithstanding COVID or its restrictions. Lastly, I am thankful for my own life and health, without which I wouldn't be able to address the above.
What we can do is choose our attitude and mentality in this situation. Complaining about what's wrong is nothing more than a submission to it. Detaching from what's wrong is growth, maturity, and ultimately happiness.
I hope my readers choose to be grateful rather than antagonized during this pandemic. If you're not, so be it, but I'd rather be appreciative of that which COVID has not, and cannot ruin.
I EXIST. I MATTER. I BELONG. I DESERVE.
RESPECT ALL. BEFRIEND FEW. LOVE ONE. HATE NONE.
DO NOT DEMONIZE, DO NOT DEIFY.
DISCLAIMER: THIS POST IS NOT AN INVITATION TO DEBATE. CRITICAL COMMENTS WILL BE ADDRESSED VIA DIRECT MESSAGE, BUT NOT IN COMMENT FORM.
