“What are you thankful for?”
Ever since my pre-kindergarten days, I have spurted out a rather programmed response, “I’m thankful for my family; I’m thankful for my friends; I’m thankful for my pets.”
The list prattled on as I said every tangible thing that budded from my head. But were these ideas truly budding and blossoming in the jelly-like tissue caged in my skull? I considered this as I sought out the list’s composer.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the list I was assigned as a child strung together the tenets of society. Now, I’m grateful for being conditioned. I’m grateful for being told to appreciate the school I attended, to appreciate the chair I sat on, and to even appreciate the plain cheerios sailing in a bowl brimming with skim milk. Much like a cell receiving the proper signaling molecules, I was able to note the signals that society sent to me in hopes that I would be a functional member.
So, I have followed suit for 19 years. I will continue to follow suit and treasure the “trivial” things I am presented with. However, it’s been almost 10 years since I’ve written a gratitude list, and when I picked up a pen to write one this Thanksgiving, I diverted my thoughts from the roaring rushes of society into rivulets.
Rivulets with a low velocity, rivulets that branch off in secluded parts of the mountains. I touched upon both the shared human feelings and the individual fusion that make me a unique and functional member of society.
So this Thanksgiving, I implore you to expand your elementary school list— you would be surprised to see what you find.
