Many small people, who in many small places, do many small things, can alter the face of the world. — Adage from the Xhosa of South Africa
Many of us in the Highlands have had a difficult run-up to the holiday. Hurricane Sandy hit us with an ugly punch-to-the-gut on October 29th, testing our strength and resolve. Locally, we were knocked off balance for a week or two, but we’re bounding back. Sandy laid an even bigger hurt on our friends and neighbors on the Shore, and the damage there is going to last a lot longer. Entire towns, like Highlands, NJ, were devastated by the storm. It won’t be so quick or easy for them to bounce back.
I’d venture to guess that folks in both ‘Highlands’ communities have something in common to be thankful for this year: our neighbors. Our extended family – the friends and neighbors in our communities who banded together, looked adversity in the face when the lights went out and things came crashing down around us, and rose to the challenge of the days ahead. It’s at time like this that the best side of people comes out, and truly good things take place in our communities. For THAT, I am truly thankful.
We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have. — Frederick Keonig, German innovator, inventor of the printing press
For me, Thanksgiving is not so much a religious holiday as it is a spiritual holiday, so I found this ‘Buddhist Grace’ blog post appropriate today. I hope you will too – give it a read. I’m NOT celebrating ‘Black Friday Eve‘ today, and I’m doing my best to eschew the excesses and madness of over-hyped consumerism. Instead I’m using it as the perfect time to take inventory of those things around me for which I am most grateful: the bounty of our land; the wonder of our natural resources; the diversity of our neighbors; and the freedom to enjoy all of these things. And resting up for the battles sure to come in the next year to protect these things for all generations, so that they too may be thankful for them.
Stand up, on this Thanksgiving Day, stand upon your feet. Believe in man. Soberly and with clear eyes, believe in your own time and place. There is not, and there never has been a better time, or a better place to live in. — Phillips Brooks, 19th century clergyman and author
You may also want to take a read of another article, ‘This Thanksgiving, Have a Conversation About Climate Change,’ that might be of interest to you as well, especially if you too are taking inventory of those things for which you are thankful. It may just provide some inspiration as you gather with families and friends over this holiday weekend. And possibly change your grumpy uncle’s mind on what may be in store for us in the not so distant future.
Happy Thanksgiving, friends!
Scott