It’s not what we have — it’s what we share
One of the most iconic images associated with Thanksgiving Day is captured in a Norman Rockwell painting. It portrays a large family gathered around the dinner table as a grandmother presents a roasted turkey while grandfather stands by ready to preside over the feast.
Rockwell’s painting and the sentiments it conveys are so ubiquitous that it is difficult to imagine they aren’t universally embraced. Nevertheless, in some more cynical circles, Thanksgiving is a day we commemorate conspicuous consumption, historical racial oppression and theistic intrusiveness.
In case you are wondering which side we come down on, give us a minute while we change into our stretchy pants and grab another wedge of pie.
Examine almost anything closely enough, and you’re bound to see flaws. But to seek out the flaws in this holiday is to miss the mark. There’s a reason it’s called Thanksgiving. Life’s too short not to celebrate, and we all have reasons to be grateful.
Sometimes those reasons aren’t easy to see, and we aren’t going to presume to tell anyone how to identify them. Still, we can’t help but notice it’s often the ones who appear to have the least who seem to appreciate what they have the most.
It’s said the trick to feeling thanks is to focus more on giving. Or, as author and philanthropist W. Clement Stone once put it: “If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share.”
You don’t have to look far to find need, and there are plenty of ways to get involved. Today the Brown Bag Coalition is serving Thanksgiving dinner at the Women’s Improvement Club in Calexico. The Salvation Army held a similar event in El Centro on Wednesday and still is seeking volunteer bell ringers for its annual Red Kettle campaign.
There are collection boxes for Toys for Tots, food drives, blood drives, contributions to local charities, membership in local service clubs, and participation in various faithbased outreaches.
It doesn’t have to cost money. Time and talent have value, too. Sometimes more. Find the best fit for yourself, and plug in.
To paraphrase an old Proverb, one who isolates himself rages against all sound judgment.
Today’s edition of Imperial Valley Press will be among our most widely read newspapers of the year. An extra 5,000 copies will be distributed on newsstands, largely in anticipation of tomorrow’s Black Friday specials.
It’s very possible as you read this you’ve already loosened your belt a notch and settled into a recliner after a huge meal with family and friends.
Or maybe it’s early in the day, and you’re just sitting down with us over a hot cup of coffee.
Maybe you read us daily. Maybe you’re here shopping for a bigger TV.
Whatever the case, we hope you find much to celebrate today, and we’re thankful to be able to share a part of the day with you.
Happy Thanksgiving.