Big Gratitude

Written on November 8, 2008 and originally posted to my Facebook profile.

I've been thinking about things I am grateful for, as the Thanksgiving holiday here in the United States approaches. While there are the usual personal things: a job that I enjoy, a roof over my head, and a nice car to drive, those things are really just trivial material things when I think about some of the bigger things that really mean so much more. Don't get me wrong; especially in these tough economic times, I am very grateful for those personal things I do have, but I want to take a moment here to think about some bigger things.

I want to express my gratitude for some very positive aspects of the country I have chosen to live in: the United States. I am also grateful to have grown up in another country that shares these same traits: Canada. Those of us who live here can and should be grateful for the freedoms we have, and the relative harmony in which we live.

As I've been watching the news lately, something profound has struck me. Here in the United States, there is now beginning a transfer of power from one administration of government to another. By all accounts, it has, and will continue to be, organized and peaceful, despite the differences in ideology between the outgoing and incoming administrations. There seems to be a genuine sense of respect, cooperation, and a desire to put the greater good of the country first. My gratitude for living in a country where this is the expected norm is immeasurable, considering that there are still too many other countries where such a transfer of power, if it even happens, is anything but peaceful. I am also glad that the roster of other countries where peaceful transfers of power have become somewhat normal has increased significantly in my lifetime.

Another thing I am impressed by, and grateful for, is the fact that people of many faiths can live and co-exist here in the United States in relative peace. While there is occasional racially, ethnically, or religiously motivated violence here, for the most part, everyone is left to be who they want to be and worship as they choose. This is in contrast to many countries where certain religious practices are mandated by law; or even some Western countries where churches are required to register their activities with government authorities, and in some of these same countries, their activities are restricted or even outlawed--even if those practices do not infringe on the safety or well-being of others.

For instance, in the town in which I live, there is an interfaith council that counts as its members Muslim, Jewish and Christian congregations. Until recently, I never realized how much I take this co-existence for granted, and while some might think that is a bad thing, I actually think it reflects well on our society that we are so accustomed to co-existing that many of us don't usually give it a second thought--because we do not have to. My thoughts on this were prompted by a conversation I had recently with a friend of mine who had been entertaining as guests a couple from a Western European country who commented on how harmoniously people of diverse faiths got along here in the United States, and how that circumstance was different from their experience in their own country.

Anyway, these are just a few 'macro' things I am grateful for.