Gratitude

Gratitude

Appreciative. Gracious. Thankful.

There is plenty to appreciate, display grace and gratitude about, and be thankful for.

Here we are with another holiday season upon us. It goes without saying that this year is different because of the pandemic. Regardless of the travel challenges, regardless of the social distancing challenges, regardless of the limited number of people at gatherings, there is still a lot to be thankful for, and many, many worthy recipients of our gratitude.

American Author Gertrude Stein noted, “Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.”

In this article, I want to explicitly express my gratitude for a number of things. As I explored Gratitude as the topic of this article, I realized that while I knew where I wanted to start, I did not know where to finish.  Let me attempt an explanation.

I am starting with you, the reader of this article. I am thankful that you are spending your time reading the words I have written, considering the ideas I have put forth, and weighing the points I am attempting to make. To those of you who take the time to comment and respond, I am exceedingly grateful.

But it does not stop there. Since I wrote this and you are reading this, I am grateful for the teachers that passed along the skills of reading and writing. Without their commitment, support and influence it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to share this writing and reading experience.

It does not stop here either. For the teachers to provide the education, I am grateful for the supporting cast; the administrators, the architects and builders who built the school. The groundskeepers, custodians, and cafeteria workers. The volunteers, aides, PTA, and parents. Thank you.

It certainly does not stop here. The supply chains needed to build, maintain and support a functioning school has millions of people, has transportation and storage challenges to manage the complex inventories, and the funding mechanisms to allow the commerce systems to work their magic.

Of course, the teachers went to school, and earned advanced degrees and certifications, spawning another set of supporting casts and supply chains. You may now realize that I am not certain of where to finish in my efforts to fully express my gratitude.

American Actress Doris Day said, “Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty.”

I am also thankful for the encouragement of my friends, family, and professional acquaintances, all of whom have helped shape my life experiences and given me a solid base from which to pull my writing inspiration from. I could not have written as I do now earlier in my life.

It would be remiss of me to not acknowledge those family members that are no longer with us. Generation upon generation of people from all walks of life built their families and left their legacies upon which we build.

Some fought for our freedom. Some paid the ultimate price, sacrificing their lives so we could carry on. Some worked in factories, built our roads, bridges and rail systems. Some became nurses and doctors to tend to the ill. Some provided hospitality services. Some practiced commerce or law. Some vied for political office or became community leaders driving social change. Some became first responders or journalists. Some, like myself, became technologists.

We stand on the shoulders of a very broad set of people. I do not know how to adequately express my gratitude to all that have come before, and to all that contribute now. Perhaps by writing and sharing out this article it is one small way to pay tribute where tribute is due.

In the age we live in, we have become, are, and will be more reliant on products and services that we don’t know how to do, don’t know how to make, and don’t know how to maintain or repair. I am thankful that I do not need to be an expert in many different aspects of my life.

 I’m thankful there are farmers and ranchers that provide our food supply. I’m thankful for the transportation and warehousing services that provide for intermediate storage. I’m thankful for the companies that prepare and package grocery items into consumer products. I’m thankful for the markets and grocers that concentrate the food and household products near the population centers.

I’m thankful for the myriad of people that transform raw materials into components into the smart phones, TV’s, electronics, medical devices and computers that have become so much a part of our daily routines.

I’m thankful for the tradesmen and tradeswomen, contractors, architects and building material suppliers that build and remodel our homes, commercial buildings, houses of worship, government buildings and community centers.

Of gratitude, Musician Lionel Hampton said, “Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart, and not in the mind.”

This is probably a good place to stop. Although I have just barely scratched the surface in identifying all the things I am grateful for, I think I have made my point. There is plenty to appreciate, display grace and gratitude about, and be thankful for. Now all we need to do is express our gratitude out loud and let people know how much we appreciate what they do for us in making our lives impactful, comfortable, and fulfilling.

Happy Thanksgiving and thank you for reading my article. I am truly grateful.