This week, Americans celebrated Thanksgiving on November 23rd. Even Americans living here for several years, still cannot get used to the fact that although the penultimate Thursday in November is set aside each year to celebrate Thanksgiving, the day is more about people gathering in groups, consuming a large feast, and relatively little about giving thanks to a higher power for particular blessings.
In recent years, Thanksgiving Day has gained new notoriety as the start of the Holiday Season, encompassing Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day. And, even more recently, the day has been associated with the beginning of the holiday shopping season.
Each year, religious-minded people complain about the blatant commercialism attached to Thanksgiving and the ensuing Christmas season.
It’s always great to give thanks, not only for the material things one has gained in one’s life but also for non-material blessings like good health, closely-knit families, secure jobs, and successful children. There’s always something to be thankful for regardless of one’s personal circumstances.
But many people who are thankful for their possessions and the situation in their lives are unaware of the gratitude they owe to others who work behind the scenes to enable them to be thankful for these possessions or life situations.
How many people show gratitude for the supermarket employees where they bought the food for the Thanksgiving dinner; the butcher who dressed the “must-have” Thanksgiving turkey; the electrical workers who ensure the lights are on and the electric stove is functioning to cook the dinner; or the overworked workers at the pharmacy where one gets their medication to help them cope with any lingering illnesses, especially during the holidays? Frankly, not many people even remember these behind-the-scenes workers even while they are giving thanks.
But Ethlyn, a 72-year-old Caribbean American resident in Homestead, Florida, did. She recounted her recent experience while waiting to collect medication in a local pharmacy. For some unknown reason, the computers in the pharmacy were down, and the two pharmacists had to process, fill, locate, and deliver prescriptions manually. The slow process caused the line for customers waiting to pick up their prescriptions to be unusually long and slow-moving. Impatient customers complained loudly, some verbally abusing the harried pharmacists who tried their best to satisfy those in line as professionally as possible. “When I finally received my medication, I felt so much gratitude for these workers. I fully realized the hard work done behind the scenes to enable me to get these little pills that help to keep me going. I am truly filled with gratitude for them this Thanksgiving, and I plan to return to the pharmacy and express my gratitude more profoundly,” Ethlyn said.
Speaking of gratitude, a local pastor once said, “Gratitude is easier when we’re surrounded by loved ones and a table full of food. It’s more of a reach when we’re surrounded by cranky strangers and exhausted others who, despite their desire to help us, are frustrated by circumstances often beyond their control.”
These frustrated others include a wide swath of people, including not only pharmacy workers but store clerks, nurses, doctors, teachers, police officers, garbage collectors, gardeners, restaurant workers, journalists, barbers, beauticians, and so many others who contribute independently or collectively to people living the type of lives for which they are thankful.
While Americans may focus on giving thanks one day annually, gratitude for others is too important a tool to be relegated to one day. Gratitude for others who, even unknown to them, through their work and effort contribute to the success of people’s lives, should be year-round and widespread. There are many workers in various fields who work under adverse circumstances and tremendous frustrations, with little or no thanks or empathy from their superiors. It would be very surprising to understand how much the show of gratitude from strangers means to them, genuinely “making their days.” Just observe how pleased the person bagging one’s groceries at the supermarket appears to be when they are genuinely thanked for that otherwise inconspicuous, low-paying task.
Our communities, country, world, would be a much better place if people made it a habit to express gratitude to those who, through their work, make their lives much better, comfortable, and fulfilled.
This Thanksgiving, while people hopefully pause from overeating and overspending to give thanks, it would be a very positive sign for them, through expressions of kindness and courtesies, to also show gratitude to the people they encounter and who are helping them through the good works they are doing without fanfare.
The management and staff of the Caribbean National Weekly express our sincere gratitude to all our readers and advertisers for their support and wish them all a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING.
