GIVING THANKS FOR OUR TREASURES

By: Debbie Bulloch



In a few days we in the USA will celebrate Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving Day celebration usually involves getting together with family and friends, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, consuming massive amounts of turkey and pumpkin pie, and then either passing out in front of the television watching hours of college football games (GO TROJANS !!! )or going to the stores and fighting other shoppers for deeply discounted merchandise.



OK, maybe I am exaggerating just a tad.



The fact is that Thanksgiving is one of those quaint and unique American celebrations that manage to combine crass consumerism and goodwill. To some (especially to foreigners) it may seem a tad odd to pick one day out of the year to give thanks for all the blessings in our life. After all, we should give thanks each and every single day of our lives for our blessings.

This is especially true given the transient nature of our lives on this plane of existence. Here today and gone tomorrow is not just an expression, it is a real possibility; those who we love and hold nearest and dearest to our heart may be here today but gone tomorrow. There is an old song by a '60s group (no I am not THAT old) called Bread. The song is titled Everything I Own and parts of the lyrics go like this:

Is there someone you know,
you're loving them so,
but taking them all for granted.
You may lose them one day,
someone takes them away,
and they don't hear the words you long to say

I urge all of you to stop for a moment and give thanks for your blessings; however big or small they may be. In this uncertain world any blessing is a true gift.

I specially urge you to please take a moment to thank those people who have gifted you with their friendship not just over the past 12 months, but over the course of your life. Think about all the people who have, at one point or the other, made a big difference in your life: a parent, a sibling, a relative, a teacher, a friend, a lover. Stop for a moment and call them (if they are far) or go and see them (if they are close) and say:

THANK YOU FOR BEING YOU!

There is an old Italian saying that goes something like this:

Chi trova un amico, trova un tesoro! (He who finds a friend finds a treasure).

Acknowledge your treasures and be thankful for them.

Thank you all for being my friend and thank you all for being a friend of BETWEEN HOMES.