Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving can be about a lot of things - turkey, football, and four-day weekends come to mind - but of course at its core it is about giving thanks.  Which is such a simple sentiment, and yet it is appropriate that we have an actual holiday to remind us since we often fail to do even this.

Giving thanks can also be quite a complex thing to do well.  Who exactly are we giving thanks to?  How ought we feel about things that we are grateful for that are as a result of an unjust system that leaves many around us without access to those same things?  How can we convert gratitude into action without doing so in ways that lead to burnout and bitterness?

Giving thanks should never not compel us to dig deeper and strive to do more.  But it is also more than acceptable to simply give thanks as an end unto itself.  Today's a good day to do both.  Happy Thanksgiving!