Tuesday, October 15, 2013

The Morning After The Holiday Weekend

The alarm went off too early.

The water is running in the shower, warming.

My work clothes are set out on the bed.

All these things signal to me that the Thanksgiving weekend is over and it's time to get back to work. But I don't want the weekend over, I don't want the season of Thanksgiving to draw to a close. Joe and I have enjoyed the time and even if we haven't overtly spent time chatting about our gratitude and thankfulness about the lives we lead, the opportunities we have and the purpose we share - it was there in the background.

In the middle of the day yesterday we were phoned by someone who wanted to say thank you to us for a small act of kindness we had done a few weeks ago. It was nothing really. The call surprised us and delighted us, not because of the gift of thanks but for the gift of time - we hadn't really spoken at length for a while.

It struck me at how brave it was for her to pick up the phone and call us to say 'thanks.' We all think we live in a world where thankfulness and thank you's are the norm. But we don't. It seems, sometimes, that we are encouraged to think that we deserve all the good things, all the acts of kindness, all the bits of generosity that come our way. Saying 'thank you' demonstrates an understanding of our place in an interconnected social universe. We rely on others, even when we think we don't. We depend on others, even those we don't know. We expect from others, even without knowing

Thanksgiving is knowing.

I don't want to leave the season of 'knowing' behind.

I don't want to forget the interconnectedness I have with my world.

And, right now, most of all, I don't want to forget to say "Thank You" to the readers, faithful and occasional, of Rolling Around in My Head. I appreciate your comments and I appreciate the opportunity to learn from you.

Thanks.

4 comments:

Susan said...

Thanks Dave. I "shared" this on FB this morning. Like you, I do not want to leave this "attitude of gratitude" behind.

Glee said...

no worries mate :)

Thanks for your blog which is changing the world, little bit by little bit. And thanks for your dedication to doing it every day. You are a person I can rely on to be fighting the fight alongside me every day.

Hugs to you and Joe.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Dave, for a wonderful place to start my day. I learn something new every time I come here, and I am reminded to be more fully human.

And a big thank you to Joe as well!

Sue

joanne said...

Thanks Dave. I had the opportunity to visit with one of my son's child hood friends this weekend whom I have not seen for a while. While Bradley was most definitely not seeking sympathy, he shared with me and I felt able to understand a bit more deeply the burden of this young man (trying to take care of others in a health care job) and experiencing the loss of a male partner and the lack of support that accompanies that for him. I gave thanks that he shared with me. thanks for your ongoing blog.