Being thankful isn’t something you do; being thankful is something you are. It is a way of being.

There is a lot of buzz around where people are going, what they will be doing and who they’ll be doing it with on Thanksgiving. I even hear some people talking about how stressful all that planning is — it strikes me as unfortunate that they have decided to experience the holiday in that way. I think that misses the point.

To be truly thankful is to be without stress in celebrating the bounty that life offers. It is to appreciate, pure and simply, every new day and the many blessings we’ve been given. What happens in our lives isn’t all good, but we can be thankful for the many things that are good. We can appreciate those good things on their own merit; they help us overcome other difficult, or even tragic, experiences. Being thankful provides us with the resilience to keep moving forward.

I’m thankful for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I’m thankful to live in the United States of America. I’m thankful to be able to pursue the life I choose to lead on a daily basis. I’m thankful for my family. And I’m thankful for each of you who take your precious time to read and reflect upon the thoughts I share in this space each week. You’ve kept me going and I’ll be eternally thankful for that.

​Tempus Maximize!