HAPPY THANKSGIVING.. and thank you very much!

The first Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the “New World” in November 1621. It is celebrated wholeheartedly in the United States of America and even more important than the 4^th of July or even Christmas because it is a time when families reunite, express gratitude for one another, and feel closer to one another than at any other time.

Festivals and holidays have now become largely universal and we in Mumbai even celebrated Halloween this year! Christmas and New Year’s Eve are a favourite time of merriment and Valentine’s Day is a close second. Holi, Diwali, Janmashtami and Ganesh Chaturthi are celebrated with great pomp and fanfare.. so I am wondering.. why don’t we celebrate Thanksgiving as well?

All the new age gurus.. life coaches and religious leaders talk a great deal about how important gratitude is.. how important it is to remember to say thank you.. and how important it is to count our blessings.. Indians are not traditionally brought up to express thanks formally although in the Western world, it is customary (and expected) to say thank you for something as basic as a glass of water.. and this is the reason we are often considered to be ill-mannered and rude to people from other countries.

Just to play devil’s advocate here, I will say that we are, on the other hand brought up to show respect to elders and to convey gratitude through gestures such as a “namaste” with a smile and more recently.. through text messages, hugs and “high fives”.. all of which are acceptable but a number of Indian families and elders in particular neither encourage or approve of excessive ebullience in expression of feelings! Not saying “thank you” for every little thing does not make us rude.. just as saying “thank you” mechanically without really meaning it does not make us polite! We need to find the happy middle path here somehow ..

It’s highly unlikely that Thanksgiving will ever be actively and specifically be celebrated as a festival in Mumbai, but what’s stopping us from counting our blessings and being thankful for the many that we have? EVERYDAY should be Thanksgiving and we need to be grateful for parents.. friends.. family.. food.. fun.. support staff.. vendors.. caregivers.. teachers.. garbage collectors.. community workers.. our Army Navy and Air Force.. and everyone who makes our lives happier, safer, easier and more comfortable!

There are so many ways to convey our thanks and gratitude.. a simple thank you.. a hug.. a card.. a text message.. cooking a meal.. taking someone out.. making or buying a gift or an experience.. spending time.. being a patient listener.. being a 3 a.m. friend.. giving money.. doing hospital duty or even something as simple but powerful as praying for someone! It is important that there is an “exchange of energy” in any situation that makes us thankful.. make sure to let the person know that you value their presence or assistance..

Living alone since losing Daddy, the importance of being thankful has assumed gigantic proportions in my life! I consider myself to be supremely blessed and am so grateful to have good health.. friends that are more than family.. a comfortable home.. food on the table.. devoted staff.. and so very much more.. We are all blessed with abundance and what we have is so much more than what we don’t.. so let us all pledge to give thanks for everything and reach out to those less fortunate with time.. money.. understanding.. acceptance and whatever it takes to make them thankful too! 

I spent a magical evening celebrating Thanksgiving with two of my dearest friends and we've decided to make a it a tradition from now on.. and that is the inspiration for this blog! To all those of you who are "there" for me in good times and bad.. support me through thick and thin.. celebrate and commiserate when the times call for it.. all I can say is THANK YOU and..

May all the days of your life be days of “thanks giving” in the truest sense.. and..

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!!

Thank you for reading!

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