Happy Thanksgiving!

As we go into the Holiday season 2020 with COVID induced restrictions (justified when voluntarily taken on, and unjustified if imposed by “force”), we realize that these are unusual times. 

Nevertheless, the significance of Thanksgiving and the interpretation in our message card above transcends any peculiarities that are in play, this year because of COVID. Many of us have lost family members at this time (due to CoVID or other natural causes during these COVID times) and have been subject to travel and other restrictions, and as a consequence, some of us could not participate in memorial services and the like for our loved ones. The world sometimes may look bleak and dark; but surely, every night is followed by a day, and this too shall pass. 

Humanity has gone through several testing times in the past, some of them much worser than our current predicament. In these times, it is important to remember and cherish the universal and eternal truths, amongst which are: (i) the world is inherently an awesome place to live in (the benevolent universe premise), and (ii) the world that we as humans made is more awesome because of the application of one faculty—REASON. 

Our reasoning capacity as human beings has made this world an awesome place and continues to do so, as evidenced by the scientific and technological progress that in very near future will give us the preventatives , therapeutics and vaccines, with which we will combat COVID. 

So this Thanksgiving, I have decided to keep my original message without change, but add a note here to give special thanks to the researchers, doctors, and other ‘frontline’ workers who are helping fight this pandemic everyday. 

To them and all others who have made our lives better, we owe a debt of gratitude!

Happy Thanksgiving 2020 everyone, and may this be the start of awesome times ahead of us. 

--Chak Kakani.