FOR BETTER OR WORSE
Sunday, October 11, 2020
Everyone seems to have heightened anxiety levels; lately, we all seem to have a shorter fuse.
Most people are not as well off as they were a year ago, and it’s our first-pandemic. This invisible foe is bashing everyone in some way, and darkly, the COVID-19 fear-factor for susceptible elderly folks is uncommonly menacing. Does that mean everyone is malcontented?
Way too many people are on the bleakish end of prosperity’s spectrum – worse off, have less joy, and poorer prospects for prosperity. Many, rightly frightened for their health and well-being for themselves and/or family members.
Most people don’t see a heartening improved situation ahead. Meanwhile, our American friends are in their yin-yang of frenzied joy and hair-pulling fright because their election selection process and campaigns rival any conspiracy-theory movie ever made, no doubt shaking their heads saying, “You can’t make this shite up.”
Still, the world turns, most people go about their business, albeit less steadily than they used to, with faith and hope that things will return to normal soon – but rational people know that’s not going happen …
But we wake up every day and have to put one foot in front of the other, with less wind in our sails, looking for a steady breeze of good health and a clear course to steer by.
This weekend is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada, so what can we be thankful for in our lives?
Turkeys will be roasted and carved, we’ll fill up with stuffing, and that delicious fat-laden gravy will invade our artery linings. Dinner table conversations will be dominated by COVID-19, U.S. elections/Trump, and our slumping economy – understandable subject matter. We all have our views, and any gathering, safe or otherwise, will focus on everyone’s hot-button issues.
But if we pause in that process for a few minutes, let us not forget to be thankful for what we have and grateful for the troubles we do not have.
If we have health, be grateful for that, and preserve it.
If we don’t have health, be thankful we live where we are, and have the health care we have.
If we have friends and family, be thankful for that, because too many people don’t, or they’ve lost some.
We are all citizens of the world, so whether or not there are walls, barriers, or borders between us – whether those pathways to each other are open or closed, whether our statistics are comfortably low or uncomfortably high, there is some form of a better life, better health, and better experiences ahead of us.
Thanksgiving should be combined with New Year; because we can then more closely align our review of the year that has been, be thankful for all it brought, and look forward in some form of unity to the year ahead.
Not everything created by nature is good, not everything created by man is flawed – because both nature and man are pretty good at doing good things well.
There is so little significance that remains in the long run for any of us, as a legacy of our lifetime of deeds – we’ll just be dust in the fullness of time, yet there are so many little things while we are here that make life magical.
May your Thanksgiving be better than ever, as we give thanks for so much we all have – at a time when so many people are in jeopardy. It’s the kind acts or kind words; it’s the actions of building bridges between people and ideas, however opposed they might appear to be, to make life better.
Reader feedback:
Not sure if you know, but my business partner committed suicide after murdering some of his family members earlier this year. Was a horrible tragedy for the surviving family members and everyone that was directly affected by it including our firm. I’m proud of how we handled the tragedy but suffice to say that I had no clue nor could I have predicted what happened. Appreciate watching that video this morning....again, it was impactful. Have a great day and chat soon, KM, Calgary, AB
Listening to your speech Mark.....just made me aware of paying more attention. More attention to conversations, more attention to body language and more attention to how people feel and how I could be of help if I only knew better. So maybe, one day I can actually help someone in need. And now, I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving weekend, and thank you for being YOU. You have no idea how many people you touch by writing your daily column. I will keep reading. DB, Calgary