Thanksgiving And All

Although this is only being posted at the end of the week, the Friday after thanksgiving, I am, at least starting to, write this on Thanksgiving day. A day when most people will be getting together and stuffing their faces. Get it? Stuffing their faces. With stuffing none the less. After all, stuffing is something you have with turkey and turkey is what is traditionally eaten at Thanksgiving. What did the turkey eat for thanksgiving? Nothing. It was already stuffed. (groan) And then for dessert some of you poor folk are actually going to eat pumpkin pie. Never quite got that one.

Watching news this weekend I heard that Canadians waste 27 billion dollars’ worth of food annually. 27 billion. Unbelievable. Imagine that. That works out to just under 1,000 dollars per person. Do you know that the amount of food we waste equals Canada’s deficit for last year? If you extrapolate that over the G8 nations you come up with a staggering number. Wonder how many people we could feed with what gets wasted every year.

It is the time of year when one reflects on the good things in life. I know. Far too often it is easier to think about all the things that suck. But, you will notice a significant swing in your mood if you focus on good things. That happens to be a little easier for me this year as we celebrate the arrival of our first grandchild. When the kids brought him for his first visit Sunday I was awestruck with that tiny bundle of new life. So much potential. At the same time I have to wonder what is in store for the little guy. The world we live in changes on a daily basis. Things just are not as simple as they once were.

I am reading a very interesting book. The setting is in the early 1900’s. That would seem archaic to many. Almost pre-historic to others. We are talking a mere 100 years ago. The story happened during the first world war. It has intense, graphic descriptions of what happened during that time. From coal mining to war, aristocracy to working class, and the dynamics of conflict between many European countries. The language of the day, terminology they used makes me chuckle at times. Reiterates the point that the world has changed. People have changed. Technology has changed. Our thinking has changed.

Many of these changes are positive. No question. However, how we adapt to these changes can dictate our future. In spite of these changes many of the dynamics remain. Power struggles. Discrimination of people based on religion, color, sexual orientation, to name but a few. There does not appear to be any less conflict. Many people are struggling. There is often a cry for help that goes unheeded. We have the ability to do so much but far too often we do so little. We take things for granted.

Going through some pictures on my cell phone I came across a picture I obviously took at some point in my travels. I have forgotten where I took this. And that’s understandable as I am a grandfather. A picture of a quote on a poster. It goes like this. “In the end we will preserve only what we love, we will only love what we understand, we will understand only what we are taught.” Makes me hope that I taught my kids the right things. Makes me hope that my grandson will be taught the right things. Knowing his parents I feel confident that will happen. Make it a good one.