This Thanksgiving’s Travels
I love Thanksgiving.
The anticipation and the preparations. It’s all about bringing family and friends together to celebrate life’s numerous blessings. A time of caring and sharing.
Yes, Thanksgiving can bring much joy and happiness into your life. It’s all about the journey.
With “journey” and “travels” the concept comes together nicely. It’s about the process much more than the destination. Yet we are delighted when we “arrive,” but there is so very much more.
It’s Your Focus
Two brothers found a treasure map.
They planned their journey and dreamed of the “treasure” they would find.
From studying the map, they knew where their treasure was located . . . and they knew how to get there.
During the early morning hours they gathered their equipment and set out for their hike in the woods. The boys hiked those woods on numerous occasions . . . but this time they had a mission . . . treasure.
The “treasure” was foremost on their minds. They walked briskly through the debris on the path. Their first “marker” was up ahead . . . the huge boulder separating the path.
They stopped briefly. They were going up the trail.
They set off, when suddenly the earth started shaking and the roar of thundering hoofs. Wild sheep were on their way. One brother dove right while the other left.
The brother on the left disturbed a mother skunk who didn’t take kindly to the intrusion.
The herd of wild sheep passed and the brother on the left was yelling and crying out in pain.
“I can’t see!”
His brother came to his rescue, bathing his eyes with water to clear his vision.
They leaned against the old tree, stumbling over the gnarled roots — their second “marker.”
Giving Up
The boys didn’t realize they were only a few feet away from their treasure.
They didn’t notice the second marker. They lost their focus.
They returned home, stumbling on every rock and rut on the path they previously covered so effortlessly.
It’s so easy to give up and to not see what is right before you.
Life gives us many obstacles, but it is our clear focus that gets up through them. When you lose your focus . . . it’s difficult to build up that enthusiasm again.
That’s how many people feel about the holidays and the preparations.
Yes, it can be a huge undertaking, but it can also be a labor of love . . . when you focus upon your goal.
Journey’s Aren’t Without Obstacles
It’s all about your focus.
You can focus upon everything that could possibly go wrong . . . or focus upon how things are coming together . . . Traffic is always an issue, but it’s your perspective that makes it bearable or horrible.
With focus, you can head-off obstacles. Find solutions and alternatives to keep you on your path.
I remember one Thanksgiving getting a flat tire.
I did replace the tire. Called to let my folks know of my delay.
Yes, I did miss out on the company and feast, but as it turned out, this is a Thanksgiving I truly did enjoy. I was grateful for the gas station that was open and how I wasn’t charged a fortune for the tire.
I was thankful for parents who kept my Thanksgiving dinner warm and ready when I arrived. I did enjoy the relaxed atmosphere.
My mother spoke of that day often. She said she got two Thanksgivings. One with my brother and his family and one with me. It made the day last longer for her.
I could have returned home, but I did continue on my journey.
I was grateful for the man who stopped and helped me change my tire and told me of the gas station that was open. I was also grateful for our conversation of how he was going to visit his grandmother. He spoke so fondly of her . . . by the time the tire was changed, I felt I knew her and the young man she raised.
I was grateful for the attendant at the gas station and his wife who brought us coffee and sandwiches.
Some Obstacles Can Be Blessings
It’s stopping for a bit to really see what is around us.
My flat tire was a blessing. It allowed me to meet some interesting people I would never have met otherwise.
It gave me a new perspective on the true meaning of Thanksgiving and the may blessings we miss, because we’re not looking for them. They come in all shapes and sizes . . . and even in disguise.
May you be blessed this Thanksgiving Day!
Sharon
