Sitting around the Thanksgiving table frequently pits the abundantly grateful against the gratitude-challenged. The oppositional rite stems from a simple question: “What are you grateful for?” While most guests wax eloquently about the wondrous details of their lives, a few sweat and squirm as they count off the number of people ahead of them.
Gratitude is a virtue unequally embraced.
The squirmers feel guilty for viewing the world in such a negative way. Forever trying to right their attitude, they try to forgive the man who chats up the cashier, which may make him late for work. The man is lonely, and alone. The cashier may be the only person he speaks to all day.
“I’m grateful for friends,” one thinks upon leaving the store. But when a car crash almost ensues, gratitude may fly out the window.
To put this in a larger perspective, which is traditionally expected around the Thanksgiving table, the squirmers make room for the good. Despite themselves, they add up their blessings with a mental calculator. Health. Check. Still employed. Check. The car works. Check. But are they really grateful, or just trying to mimic the sentiments of others?
Sometimes unexpected doors open in the nick of time. This week, JTA sent the IJNan article about 70 letters Oskar Schindler received from Jews he saved during the Holocaust. They had lost everyone and everything — except the future. Think about it.
“I was very moved by your courageous self-sacrifice,” one letter to Schindler read. “More importantly, however, Ithank you, Frau Schindler, for having restored my faith in mankind.”
Oskar Schindler left this world a bitter man. Despite his legendary list containing the names of those he rescued from death, he felt like a failure. Those letters must have reminded him that he did something important, and inspired gratitude.
When it comes your turn to say what you’re grateful for this Thanksgiving, and your pockets feel empty, treasure this moment of life. Crises may lurk ahead, but for now, inhale life — and be grateful.
Copyright © 2017 by the Intermountain Jewish News
