(no subject)

[fajrdrako]

From November 27, 2008:

Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S.

Now, you may have noticed that the global economy isn’t exactly doing well. There’s war. Starvation. All sorts of bad, scary things going on.

So–just for today–how about sharing 7 things that you’re thankful for?

This can be about books, sure–authors you appreciate, books you love, an ode to your public library–but also, how about other things, too? Because in times like these, with bills piling up and disaster seemingly lurking around every corner, it’s more important than ever to stop and take stock of the things we’re grateful for. Family. Friends. Good health (I hope). Coffee and tea. Turkey. Sunshine. Wagging tails. Curling up with a good book.

So, how about it? Spread a little positive thinking and tell the world what there is to be thankful for.

1. I am thankful I can walk. Six months ago, I couldn't. I complain because my broken ankle still hurts sometimes, and I can't walk as well or as quickly as I used to, but really... The joy of mobility fill me with wonder and gratitude every day.
   
   
2. I am thankful for all my wonderful friends.
   
   
3. I am thankful for the joys of reading and writing - whether it's LJ or fanfic or books or magazines or any of the many other ways words have brought me such pleasure. I am thankful for fandom - for the slash community and the TV shows that deliver it; for the movies and books and plays and other delights that have enhanced my life beyond my own experiences, and which have brought me all these interesting people to share it with. I am thankful for my favourite authors: Shakespeare, Dunnett, Bujold, Kay, Lowachee, Turner, Parker, Tolkien, Turner, and so many others. I am thankful to have three new Torchwood novels to read, just delivered by the Post Office. Joy!
   
   
4. I am thankful that I can pay the rent this month without worrying that my cheque will bounce. I am thankful that I'm not overdrawn. I've been so worried about money for so long that it was a constant, invisible worry. Now... it's a relief not to have that burden.
   
   
5. I am thankful to live in a country that, whatever its problems, has more freedom than most, and gay marriage, and OHIP, fresh water, a low crime rate, public libraries and multiculturalism, public transit, and a lot of good people. For this, I can put up with hockey mania.
   
   
6. I am thankful for the budgies singing beside me.
   
   
7. I am thankful for John Barrowman.
   

And generally speaking, I'm thankful I am not living in the midst of war, or starving, or seriously ill, or depressed. All those things.

Comments

[cionaudha.livejournal.com]

Say, we were wondering around the holiday table this afternoon:

Is the Canadian Thanksgiving meal the same as the American Thanksgiving meal? You know, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, a couple of veggies, cranberry relish, pumpkin pie?

I said I'd ask you.


I second your emotion on #2, #3, #4, and oh, so very much #7.

[auriaephiala.livejournal.com]

Yup, we serve similar food at our Thanksgiving dinner, with regional and personal variations, of course.

I'm thankful for similar things to fajrdrako .

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Is there anything regional that they do in Winnipeg that they don't do here?

[auriaephiala.livejournal.com]

Jellied salads? We used to have several varieties at church suppers, and my mother often made them for special dinners. My mother-in-law (from Saskatchewan) still regularly makes them. I can't think of much else.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I rather like jellied salads. My mother never made them, but I used to.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Is the Canadian Thanksgiving meal the same as the American Thanksgiving meal? You know, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, a couple of veggies, cranberry relish, pumpkin pie?

Yes, though we always call it cranberry sauce, not cranberry relish. (Exactly the same thing, though, I think.) My mother always baked squash, which I love, and usually served peas as well. Cooked frozen peas. And I think baked potatoes are as common as mashed for Thanksgiving, but that's an individual choice.

[duncanmac.livejournal.com]

Definitely agreed on some of these, notably #s 2,3,4 (and 5). I haven't had problems walking since I was a kid (and broke my ankle then too) so I should add #1 as well. :-)

I hope the messy weather has not been too hard on you lately.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

The messy weather first put me into a state of wide-eyed phobia. After a week of it... I'm starting to calm down. I started carrying a cane on Wednesday - even though I haven't needed it much, it gives me confidence.

And I have to leave plenty of time to walk to the bus stop.

[wijsgeer.livejournal.com]

I never know what I am thankful for. That is, I could make a tidy list (family, friends, stories, health, democracy, new computer and buying it without worries, enough food, roof over my head, my brains working reasonably well) but the emotion of thankfulness I find it hard to feel. I mainly feel a "I want to go back to bed, this world costs so much effort-sensation". Oh I am so tired! Being thankful properly costs energy...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yes, being thankful takes energy. And when I was depressed, I couldn't be thankful for anything, because there was too much pain to appreciate anything. I couldn't reconcile that with what I thought - I wanted to feel grateful - but it just didn't work.

And it was harder then to cope with the way I didn't have things I wanted: health, family, love. The importance of health is... well, it's primary.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid I have a problem with the very concept of 'Thanksgiving':
a) It only makes sense if you believe in something/one(s) to receive the thanks/gratitude. If they existed, this would surely raise questions about their sense of priorities in denying some of the most basic life-requirements to others.
b) It's basically a very smug, pat-oneself-on-the-back idea. Maybe it should be renamed 'Smugfest'? It's sheer chance that some of us happen to be living in reasonably safe and stable places: one can feel relieved about this, but to be 'thankful' about it is basically going "Nyah-nyah!" at all the poor sods who don't have that fortune. It's all a roll of the dice. I'm more comfortable with the old image of Fortuna's Wheel.

In context: I had a near-miss yesterday when the agency phoned me and told me I was finished, and not to go into work on Monday (my contract is supposed to be for several months). I had to take it up with my line-manager/union rep, and got a reprieve, but for an hour I was on the verge of cracking up. I thanked him, because that was down to an individual: one can be grateful to real people for specific things, but I don't think 'abstract thankfulness' makes any sense. Everything is precarious in life; it can change in a moment.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

It only makes sense if you believe in something/one(s) to receive the thanks/gratitude.

Now, there's where I don't agree. One can be thankful without being thankful to someone. I don't believe in a god, but I think being thankful is good for the individual spirit.

And I don't feel smug about being able to walk (for example). I'm just glad I can, and it feels good to express it occasionally.

Everything is precarious in life; it can change in a moment.

So very true. Slip on the ice and in a moment, you're helpless - ! And that's an example that's almost frivolous in its implications, but just happens to be one that's engraved in my short-term memory.

Perhaps we need a better word than "thankful" but I'm not sure what. Let me think about that.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

Slip on the ice and in a moment, you're helpless - ! And that's an example that's almost frivolous in its implications, but just happens to be one that's engraved in my short-term memory.

Exactly! About 4 years ago, I had a narrow squeak falling downstairs: luckily, the fact I was wearing sturdy boots stopped my ankle breaking, although the sprain wasn't much fun (and I still have to be careful with the ligament).

Perhaps we need a better word than "thankful" but I'm not sure what. Let me think about that.

Yup. And I don't think a sort of self-congratulatory festival is a great idea. We don't have Thanksgiving in the UK: it seems to be a sort of descendant of Harvest Festival. However, as I recall from my schooldays some 35 years ago, it was very much oriented towards other people, especially the less fortunate. We used to take tins of food to school, to be given out by charities to elderly or destitute people. That seems healthier to me. There's plenty of opportunity for self-indulgence and solipsism at Yule.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

The concepts of giving and receiving seem interesting to me, in their cultural implications. Emphasizing giving has, to my eyes, made it difficult for a lot of people to receive - it embarrasses them, or strikes them as demeaning, as if "to give" puts a person on the top of a social hierarchy and "to receive" gives one lesser status. And yet for ever giver there must be a receiver. I like the notion of graceful receptivity as well as graceful giving.

I am not so comfortable when it turns into buying and selling.