Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Maybe I should rephrase: Thanksgiving is the holiday I enjoy. I’m ambivalent toward pretty much all other holidays. Except Christmas. I hate Christmas. But that’s another topic for another time. This is Thanksgiving, not Hatesgiving. I’m not here to express my distaste of holidays as a concept. I’m here to express gratitude.
I have so much for which I am grateful. So, in the spirit of this, the only holiday that matters to me, I want to jot down a few thoughts and offer up a little well-deserved gratitude.
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First and foremost, I am incredibly grateful for my family and my friends. One of my favorite aspects of this holiday is spending time at home with family, sharing a good meal and good company. I was unable to make it home for Thanksgiving this year, which was certainly disappointing. But I got three invites from friends to share in their celebration of the holiday. I’m surrounded by fantastic people everywhere I turn, and for that I am eternally grateful.
I am also thankful for myself. This year has been one of profound change and growth. Earth-shattering revelations about how I perceived the world and myself were brought to my attention early in the year and set me on a trajectory of near daily development towards the betterment of my internal situation. I saw the destructive toll religion has had on me and managed to separate myself from Christianity, and any theistic belief, once and for all. I was bound for suicide and now, for the first time in about eight years, I can honestly say I’ve never felt better. I’m on my own side for the first time in my life and I can’t express how good that is.
And of course, I have to mention running. For the umpteenth time, I know. But running was the mechanism by which I coped when I didn’t know how to cope, when I didn’t even know that I needed to cope. It has kept me afloat through the darkest nights of my soul. It has been a source of some of my greatest joy, a constant inspiration. When I began running as a slow freshman making his first attempt at the mile way back when, I never would have guessed that eleven years later I would complete a fifty mile race through the mountains of Squamish. I’ve met such great people and have a job I quite enjoy, all thanks to this hobby that is much more than a hobby.
And speaking of jobs, I would be remiss if I did not mention how wonderful my place of employment is. When I go to work here in Fleet Feet Tacoma, I get to spend time with wonderful people on a daily basis. My boss and coworkers are just the best. To the extent I often forget that many people go to work and have to be around toxic people they can’t stand. It’s almost a foreign concept to me that one could have coworkers with whom they are not also friends. Even on days when I, as a textbook introvert, am not super enthused to be in customer service, my coworkers make even the most unpleasant customer interactions bearable.
In a world of such political insanity, there is no measurement that could adequately articulate the depths of my gratitude for the state in which I live. Washington State, indeed, the entire West Coast, is a wonderful place to be. People can be who they are here, whether they’re straight, gay, religious, or not, whether they’re somewhere outside the spectrum or exist as any shade within. Nowhere is perfect, but I’m happy to call Cascadia my home. And the diversity is not only found in the people, but the geography as well. Mountains? Yup. Ocean? You got it! Scabland? If that’s your thing, sure! Forests? Of course! Farmland? Why not!? Plus, my state is prettier than your state. And that’s a true fact. (Fine, except maybe you, Alaska.)
Most of all, though, I’m grateful to be a tiny, insignificant part of this: the human experience. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to my life. We are nothing without each other. I hope our shared experience can overcome ideological barriers and rhetoric. Let us be human first, and let our divisive opinions be somewhere so far down the list of priorities that they are half-hearted afterthoughts in the wake of our love for each other.
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Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Be well.