Gratitude: The Parent Of All Other Virtues

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.
-Thornton Wilder

If there’s one uniquely American holiday, it’s Thanksgiving.

It’s a day unlike any other. It’s a day that O Henry celebrated with these words:

“There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving Day…is the one day that is purely American.”

As these images demonstrate, it is a gentle day…a joyful day…a peaceful day …a day for family and friends…a day for conversation…food, and community.

When you think about it, Thanksgiving should be a daily event because we are the beneficiaries of a country that has so much to be grateful for.

America is a country of great beauty, abundant natural resources, an enviable form of government, and people who are rich in all the ways that matter.

We are a diverse people… we are a believing people… we are an optimistic people… we are a giving people… we are a determined people.

Certainly we have our challenges, and at times we let things get out of focus. We are too preoccupied with the lives of celebrities, the rich and famous, and too often we do not give ourselves credit for the significance of our own lives.

In recent years we have become a bit too casual about a number of things and a bit too dependent upon the comforts of the digital age.

Too many of us spend too much time wishing we were someone else…someplace else…doing something else. We do not realize the value of our own circumstance. We diminish our own beauty, significance and contributions.

I suppose that is only human. In an age of celebrities who can afford to spend a half million dollars on wedding flowers, the flower we pick in our garden loses its genius.

At this time of the year, Kitch and I like to slow everything down to think about our blessings and to give thanks for who we are…where we are…and what we have the opportunity to do.

If truth be told, we think Thanksgiving is the most important day of the year.

We agree with those who believe that “Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates vision for tomorrow.”

For us, Cicero said it all in 15 words:

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but it is the parent of all the others.”

This year our gratitude episode will end with the sights of Windsor Park, and the music of Carole Lynn Campbell and Greg O’Brien. While Carole and Greg are singing, The Gift, you will see the names of the people who fill us with hope, inspiration and service this year.

Their importance in the life of Windsor Park Stories this year was best expressed in the words of Gibran and Sokol:

They enable us to "Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving."

They enable us to "Look straight ahead and never give up."

For that and so much more we are grateful.

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