Blog. Thankfulness. Etc.

By Cody Schmitz

 

Okay. Blog. Thankfulness.

This might be a problem. I’ll be honest with you, reader. This blog is hard to write. Sure, “I’m thankful for…” sounds simple enough. But have you ever gotten down to it and actually considered what you’re thankful for? If you’re like me, the answer ended up being absolutely everything – and seemingly nothing.

If someone were to come up to me on the street and make me say 10 things I was thankful for, I would first fear for their sanity, then spew a list like this:

-          God

-          Family

-          Friends

-          Food

-          Shelter

-          Peace of Mind

-          My Good Looks

-          Health

-          Talents

-          Chinese Food

(Notice that both Food and Chinese Food appear on the list. This is not a mistake.)

After reviewing my list, some questions pop up – If these are the most instinctual things I’m thankful for, then why am I never thankful for them? Because honestly, I don’t remember the last time I thanked God for my health. (I do, however, thank him for Chinese Food daily.) This alludes to my situation – I’m a really selfish, unthankful person! I mean, look at all the things I’m pretty sure I’ve never thanked anyone for:

-          Central heating/cooling

-          Pillowcases

-          Tap water

-          80’s high school movies

-          Gangnam Style

-          Light Jackets

-          Good Teachers

-          Airplanes

-          Facebook

-          Vegetables

-          The Spanish Language

-          Landline phones

-          Sleet

-          Coral Reefs

-          Escalators

I could go on. But the point is, if I’m really thankful for all of these things, why am I never thankful for ‘em? The whole point of Thanksgiving is thankfulness. (Duh.) But I think we really do forget what it means to be thankful.

Another thing, I believe thankfulness by definition is all about the little things. Yes, you should be grateful for your family or shelter, but don’t forget to be thankful for Chapstick, or the trail mix with M&M’s in it. That stuff rocks.

Oh, and one last thing. Let’s face it – we live cushy, awesome American lives. We have iPhones and Jimmy John’s and office chairs with “lumbar support” and Germ-X. Don’t be ashamed; be thankful for these things! And while you’re at it, give to a charity, because plenty of people live without as many things as we have to be thankful for.

So basically: Blog – Thankfulness - Charity. I guess this wasn’t too hard to write after all.