Okay, so the title of this blog post is admittedly a little misleading. I actually enjoy Thanksgiving. I love spending time with family and friends and I love food. So naturally, there’s nothing for me not to like about the occasion. So why do I think it’s a stupid holiday despite enjoying it so much?
Let me set the scene for a typical Thanksgiving holiday with my family. We usually celebrate potluck style, with each household bringing a few dishes for everyone to share. The evening before is usually spent doing the prep work for whatever dishes we’re set to bring to dinner. My family always cooks green bean casserole and sweet potato pie. These have become our “signature” dishes. Other than that, we don’t do anything out of the ordinary to mark the occasion. The next day, we get up just after 9:00 am and spend most of our time leading up to dinner in the kitchen. Around 2:00 pm, we pack up the food and drive across town to my aunt and uncle’s house. The rest of my family has already started gathering in anticipation of the feast to come. Everyone is chatting and hanging out for about an hour or so, and we sit down to eat close to 3:00 pm. Before we eat, we have a tradition of going around the table and saying what we are each most thankful for. Answers range from family and friendships, to new job and education opportunities, to simple things like food and shelter. After circling the table and listening to what everyone has to say, we dig in. When dinner is over, we usually stick around and play games for a few hours until everyone is too tired and full to carry on. Before 10:00 pm, we’re in the car heading back to our house where we enter into a food coma until the next morning comes.
Okay, so where’s the problem? If I had to guess, you might still be wondering why I’d even bother to talk about Thanksgiving in April anyway. Let me explain. As I mentioned before, the family time and delicious food are both awesome. Nothing wrong there. But notice something very peculiar about my typical Thanksgiving holiday. Notice how little time my family and I actually spend “giving thanks” in the entirety of that 24-hour span supposedly dedicated to expressing appreciation of the things we are most thankful for. In fact, it only lasts for about 10 minutes, all said and done. Even crazier, those brief 10 minutes might even be the only time we explicitly express how thankful we are for the things we care about all year.
Simply put, I think Thanksgiving is a stupid holiday because I see so many people (myself included) use it as an excuse. 365 days in a year, and we wait for one day to tell everyone how grateful we are for all the good things we have in life. That seems pretty absurd when you think about it that way. As I mentioned in the first part of this series, Bored to Tears Part 1, changing your perspective can make you happier in the long run. Adding to that is one simple concept:
GRATITUDE.
No need to save it for a special occasion. We should take time to reflect on the things we are most grateful for each and every day. Remind yourself not only what you’re thankful for, but why you’re thankful for those things in the first place. And if it’s a person you're thankful for, let them know! During these tough times, I’ve already seen so many people taking to social media to express gratitude towards friends, family, and coworkers. And if you haven’t done so already, there’s no time like the present. Or, take it one step further and call someone up or send a text and tell them personally how thankful you are for them.
Especially now, we can all benefit from a little extra gratitude and positivity. Getting in the habit of expressing gratitude is easier than you might think. If you don’t regularly remind yourself of the things you appreciate, I want you to try something. Each day, take a few minutes to write down three things you’re grateful for. That’s it. Three small things. It doesn’t even have to be in some fancy journal or diary. Write it on a sticky note. Use the notes app on your phone. Draw on the back of your hand. Whatever. You’ll find pretty quickly that you start to think of all kinds of things you would normally take for granted. Hopefully, you’ll even come to be thankful for the opportunity to learn from the adversity we’re currently facing, as you live your life with the “don’t cry” philosophy in mind.
Tell us what you’re most thankful for by using the Instagram story template below. Save the template using the link below. Express your gratitude, tag three people you are thankful for, and tag @spiltmilk_clothing. A little gratitude goes a long way. Live in the moment. Have fun. Give thanks. Don’t cry over SPILT MILK.
Link to Instagram Story Gratitude Template, Click Here.
By Noah Jacobs, Founder of SPILT MILK