Actually
the Thanksgiving holiday that just passed is more than a day of over
indulging with family and friends. For some, it may be hard to
believe, but it is even more than football. It's a time to step back
from striving for more and more - what some see as the American
dream. To be happy we need step away from the thinking of Edward G
Robinson in Key Largo. When Humphrey Bogart asked the gangster what
he was after, he couldn't say, then he said “More!”
Don't
take this as a criticism of working to make a better life for
ourselves and our families. But think about it this way: if what you
have doesn't make you happy, getting a nicer house or faster car
won't do it either. If the thought goes through your mind that you
will be happy when you get this thing or something else happens, you
joy will be quickly passing and ongoing happiness will be forever out
of your reach.
You may
be thinking that I don't know your situation and your reasons for
being unthankful this time of year. Obviously I don't. Those are
just details. Look at one of the most unhappy people in our country,
Colin Kaepernick. He spent his holiday at an “unthankfulness”
gathering railing against the country that gave him opportunities few
will ever see. Was he appreciative of what his talents on the
football field gave him? It's hard to believe he did the way he
disrespected the game, his teammates and our country.
I won't
get into a discussion of the validity of his cause, but in the way he
let it define his life and his actions. For those of us in the USA,
a spirit of unthankfulness causes us to overlook the freedoms we have
and the prosperity these freedoms have given us. Sure not everything
is right, but then, when and where has it ever been otherwise?
I don't
often often go out to movies – there are far too many available at
home and I don't have to wait in line to spend nine dollars for a
bucket of popcorn. However in the past few days I broke my usual
habits and saw a couple of movies that emphasized how powerful the
American experiment in individual freedom impacts the people
privileged to experience it.
The
first film, Midway, showed what free men will do to protect their
country and families. For the cynics who say there is little to be
thankful for, we really need to appreciate the cost to the airmen and
their families who sacrificed during this battle that was the first
major American victory in the Pacific and turned the tide against the
Japanese Imperial Navy. They gave their lives so we and their loved
ones could live in freedom.
The
second film showed what free men and do with the opportunities we
have before us. Ford vs Ferrari showed how a major corporation
needed to come to individual entrepreneurs to help them defeat
entrenched auto racing champions. Of course, the bureaucratic
interference made the job more difficult, but it was still the
efforts of free individuals like Carroll Shelby and Ken Myles that
got the job done.
But, you
say you haven't been given the resources that Shelby had or you
haven't faced an enemy as big as the Navy flyers did. So what?
Neither have I. Most people haven't. Perhaps that, in itself, is
something to the thankful for.
So what
does this mean for us? It's easy to be bummed out because of things
or resources we don't have. We can look around in the real estate
business and see other investors who have more money available to
them or have access to better deals. Often we don't see what they
had to go through to get to their current situation. Some even had
less the we do when they started.
One
thing we all have is opportunity. Some will say they don't have the
same opportunities. As Werner Erhard would tell you “So what?”
(No, I am not promoting EST, just using an illustration.) Each of us
has opportunities unique to our situation – sometimes we just have
to look a little harder to find them. When we do, this is something
to be thankful for. It is these opportunities that make or break us.
The opportunities we don't have don't matter and there is no point
in dwelling on them.
As an
illustration, let me tell you about a trip I made with my grandson to
the Tampa New Car and Truck Show. Pretty much, unless you have Jay
Leno's garage, there was something there to make you unhappy and
discontent with the vehicle you are driving, even if you just got it.
Perhaps especially if you just got it. You would see something
better you could have gotten. You just may not appreciate the car or
truck you drive and are not quite as thankful for having it. You may
say: why should I be thankful for it. I worked for it . I earned
it. Hey, you had the ability to work, some people don't.
There
were all kinds of things that caught my eye, the mid-engine Corvette,
the Cobra Mustang, the supercharged hemi Challenger, especially the
'68 454 Chevelle convertible with cowl induction. Younger people
won't understand the last one, millennials might not even get the
first three. Did the existance of these vehicles diminish the
utility and benefit of the car I drove to the show? No, but I could
have let them destroy my appreciation for it and desire to take care
of it since it wasn't a great as the ones I saw.
The
point of all this is that you cannot drive vehicles you don't have
and you can't take advantage of opportunities you don't have. BUT...
you can take advantage off opportunities you do have... and because
of this consider them as the path to get you where you want to be.
Because of this we can appreciate whatever is before us – and we
can step forward into them. And... be thankful for them.
Now
about the people in our lives. They have helped make us what we are,
especially our families. If they have been difficult, they have
developed patience and strength in us – something to be thankful
for. If we have learned something from them – that, too, is
something to be thankful for.
Even if
that doesn't move you to a spirit of thankfulness. Take a deep
breath. You are alive. You can think. You can dream. You can take
steps toward your dream. As long as you live there is purpose to
your life. Don't see it? Look again, harder. The funny thing about
human nature we often miss some important things in life unless we
are looking for them.
So start
looking – IF you even want to be thankful. There are reasons for
everyone to be happy even if it a chance for a better tomorrow. An
attitude of gratitude will carry you much further than living in a
perpetual pity party.
