By William Holston
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-871807.mp3
Dallas, TX –
2009 has been a particularly challenging year for many people. It might be difficult to think of things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. My wife and I both buried our fathers this year. Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel once said, "When a person doesn't have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity. A person can almost be defined by his or her attitude toward gratitude." A few weeks ago, I began journaling about the things that I'm thankful for. I soon realized, my work with refugees enabled me to express gratitude for things that I used to take for granted.
I started by reflecting on my family. I am thankful among other things, for the simple idea that I know where my sons are, and they are safe and healthy. I know fathers who can't say that.
I'm thankful for 25 years with a wife who puts up with my eccentricities. I've met many political refugees separated from their spouses, as they flee violence and war.
I'm thankful for the right to vote. A client from Zimbabwe once sat in my office on election day. She commented on how peaceful everything was. I had never thought to appreciate that.
I'm thankful I can practice my faith without interference. A client from Eritrea was imprisoned for simply reading a Bible. Her brother, whose daughter is still in prison for her faith, told me, You Americans have everything, and yet you complain all the time."
I'm thankful that I can publicly protest government policy without fear. I've known men and women who were tortured for that.
Suprisingly, gratitude seems to rise from times of trial. Abraham Lincoln initiated the tradition of a national annual day of thanksgiving with a proclamation in 1863, less than two weeks after the battle of Chickamauga, two of the bloodiest days in American history. He wrote: "The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies." At the height of the depression in 1933, Franklin Roosevelt said in his Thanksgiving proclamation: "May we ask guidance in more surely learning the ancient truth that greed and selfishness and striving for undue riches can never bring lasting happiness or good to the individual or to his neighbors. May we be grateful for the passing of dark days; for the new spirit of dependence one on another.."
It turns out I have a lot to be thankful for. I'm thankful for loyal friends that accept me, flaws and all. I'm thankful for fulfilling work, for the privilege of representing refugees and the lessons that I learn from them about priorities and courage.
I'm also thankful for painful things. I realize my character has mostly developed through challenges. I shattered my arm several years ago. I realize that because out of the pain I developed much more patience and empathy for people with disabilities. Even though it was extremely sad and stressful, I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to care for my father in his last illness. I'm even thankful for criticism, which has lessened hubris.
Deitrich Bonhoeffer, the German Pastor and Nazi resister once wrote: "In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich." These last few weeks, I've felt a little richer.
William Holston is an attorney from Dallas.
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