On Giving Thanks and Gratitude

11/27/2021

This time of year has always been my favorite...for the food, family and friends, all sharing even a few moments of together in the calm eye of whatever hurricane life's choices and complexities have created for the converse portion of our calendars.

Thanksgiving, that delicious reminder that if we strip away all the material, digital and political dross that distracts and drives all too frequently, we are left in the presence of the first, precious thing experienced on breath number one: family.

My eyes see this beautiful, simple theme in 4k...no more tangibly so than on Turkey Day, which has always involved other families and friends, whether pre-constructed, circumstantial or spontaneous. Got all three of those this year.

Yet, Gratitude is something I've struggled to give an appropriately  frequent spotlight for much of my life, particularly (obviously?) in stretches tinged with extreme adversity, success-enabled invincibility or nihilist-gray lenses.

Gratitude, that beautiful, curving glimmer in the valley between two familiar and well-traversed mountains: Ambition and Accomplishment. Sometimes overshadowed, sometimes just plain ignored or forgotten, Gratitude is that river in between the rocks that gives life to its surroundings, that turns brown into green, soil into sustenance, senses into spirit. Gratitude does not demand recognition; it simply exists in the dark spaces in between our doings, waiting nonchalantly for us to replace the batteries and shine a light.

These last two years have been really wild, and supremely difficult at times. I started and created a lot, on my own and with  others. Some things stuck...now healthy habit and professional wins to assist in future building. Some things didn't...now valuable experiences and self-knowledge to be accessed when choosing the next lily pad. Some things are still TBD, and maybe they will work given enough time, focus and endurance.

The country that fills my soul, Lebanon, started an uncontrollable, downward spiral. That massive port explosion last year cut incredibly deep, and I bled helplessness for months. Then, this year, the man who taught me to put my hands into the dirt and my heart into people exhaled his last, surrounded by multiple generations of loved ones and intentionally bereft of regret.

Quick story: my grandfather once beat me so badly in backgammon, we took a picture and framed it for his bookshelf. His passing hit much harder than that loss, but they are forever intertwined and now I roll the dice with his hands.

So, here's to Gratitude. I'm grateful for these opportunities to grow and influence. I am grateful for the chances, choices, lessons and luck. I am grateful for the people who have shown me models and paths to a life well-lived. And grateful too to those who by chasing greed, false integrity and petty values reminds us how insignificant those pursuits truly are.

Finally, I'm grateful for a world where just a bit of time spent in any part of the calendar can make anyone feel like family.