Jason Earle

It’s the end of the Thanksgiving weekend, and I’m feeling a little bit guilty. Not because of the extra servings of stuffing or those last four chocolate-peanut butter brownies, but because I’ve been reflecting upon what Thanksgiving is about and how that fits into my life for the other 364 days of the year. I’ve certainly got some work to do in this regard.

This is a holiday which symbolizes perhaps the highest and most precious emotional state, next to love: gratitude. Cicero was quoted as saying, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”  I agree with Cicero, wholeheartedly. Sadly, in America, we dedicate only one day per year to this blissful condition.

Synonyms for gratitude include appreciation, acknowledgment and thanks. These are not emotions, but actions actually, aren’t they? Perhaps the emotion precedes the action, like in the case where someone does something kind and you express appreciation, but somehow I don’t quite think this is what Thanksgiving or gratitude is really all about. I believe there’s a more active role to play here.

Gratitude is an elevated state of mind, and in my opinion, the most powerful antidote to “the blues.” It’s nearly impossible to have a bad day when the math we do revolves around counting what we have, as opposed to counting what we’re lacking. Most importantly, and perhaps most powerfully, gratitude is a choice. The power we have over our happiness and the way we touch those around us revolves largely around how we choose to use – or not use – the magic of gratitude. Its greatest impact is in the actions inspired by it. It’s something we do, not something that happens to us.

So much has happened in my young life – tragedies and triumphs alike – which fuel an almost overwhelming sense of appreciation and gratitude, but lately I feel that I have fallen badly short in expressing it clearly, timely and on a consistent basis to those who matter most due largely to the concentrated nature of my life these days. This is a lousy excuse and an unacceptable shortcoming in my world, but it’s only one part of the puzzle I’m wrestling to put together here, most of which struck me squarely this weekend, which I chose to make a very quiet, contemplative one.

Take a look at the definitions of appreciation, one of the closest synonyms of gratitude.

ap·pre·ci·a·tion  n.

1. Awareness or delicate perception, especially of aesthetic qualities or values.
2. Recognition of the quality, value, significance, or magnitude of people and things.
3. An expression of gratitude.
4. A rise in value or price

After reading these, I can’t help thinking about the correlation between these different definitions: “Awareness or delicate perception…”, “Recognition of the quality, value, significance, or magnitude of people and things” and “A rise in value…”

So, playing with this idea, the way I’m seeing this, it begins with awareness, then recognition, followed by an expression of gratitude, resulting in a rise in value.  Is this not appreciation in the truest sense?

Is it, then, simply taking the time to be acutely aware and expressing this appreciation which actually causes an appreciation in value?  Value is a matter of perspective, just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? Don’t your loved ones feel more valuable to you – and, of course, more valued – when you take the time to tell them how much you love them? Isn’t it, simply, your explicit expression of appreciation which makes it so?  Isn’t this why we should take time to do the simple things with greater attentiveness, like eating more slowly or stopping to smell the proverbial roses? It has been often said that real wealth is not having whatever you want, but wanting what you have. The things and people around us are suddenly worth more when we stop to appreciate them and, in turn, do we not also make ourselves more precious?

The original, official Thanksgiving was June 29, 1676, not exactly what we were taught in elementary school. It has since been jockeyed around, like most national holidays, by the  proclamations of the various turkeys we’ve had in our nation’s highest office, to land on the fourth Thursday of November, where it now roosts.

My last New Year’s resolution, many years ago, was to stop making them. I’ve decided to revisit the idea, having contemplated this on the day which we are scheduled to simultaneously engage in a synchronized expression of mutual appreciation. If they can move Thanksgiving, I can move my New Year, so that’s exactly what I’m doing. I am now withdrawing my wholesale boycott of New Year’s resolutions, effective immediately, and hereby declare today the first day of my New Year, resolving from this point forward to make more time to appreciate everything and everyone around me more consciously and actively, regardless of the state of affairs or the date on the calendar.

Voltaire wrote, “Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” So, this message is to let you know that I appreciate you. The genuine sentiment behind this simple expression to you enriches my life too, adding more meaning and depth, fulfilling that part of my spirit which was feeling underutilized. What a fascinating thing it is, to be thankful for expressing appreciation. Now I’m not feeling quite so guilty.

Let’s see how long this New Year’s resolution sticks.

Perhaps till next year.

Most gratefully,

Jason