Take Time to Be Thankful

When I think about it, at this point in my life I have lived in three different cities, four if you count my month abroad, worked four different jobs since graduating college, and had experiences both good and bad that are too numerous to count. Friday will mark the end of my stint in Virginia, and I'm not particularly sure if it's because my time is drawing to a close, or if these things have been on my mind for a couple weeks now, but I've been reflecting. I always do when I make one transition to the next. What I've meditated on the most, I intend to share, but to paraphrase: Take time out of your day to be thankful. I have. And I am.

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."

- - Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul - -

I consider myself lucky for a number of different reasons. As an example, I've been fortunate enough to have gone and visited other countries. I think it truly helps a persons world view when they can go out and experience the successes, hopes, ideas, and problems of other cultures. In a way it helps to better understand the situation you're in.

Another example, I have been fortune enough to have gone to two of the best Universities in the state of North Carolina. As far as getting a leg up in the world this is a solid foundation upon which I can, and have, started to build my life upon.

There are several other examples that I could give, but I think the point I'd most like to drive home is not the fact that I have had the proverbial doors opened for me, because those are experiences that will come and go. The most important part of my life that I take with me every day, as should you, are the people that have come along with those experiences.

"The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship."

 - - Ralph Waldo Emerson - -

Whether you realize it or not, these are the movers and the shakers in the game of life. I can tell you that I am my own man, yes, but a man who has, is, and will always be constantly shaped by the ones I surround myself by. I used to tell people, and still do on occasion, that certain relationships will come and go, but it's my friends and those closest to me that I can and will always count on to be there when I need to be.

That's where a true friend lies. In this people who you may only speak to but once a year, two years, decade - however long it may be, but when you do it's like you just ran into each other the other day and can pick up where you left off. Those are the people I owe everything in my life to. Them and everyone in between.

I think a lot of what goes on in the world centers too much around the personal experience. Everyone is worried about where they're going, what's happening in their lives, their futures, whatever is theirs. I'll admit that I am guilty of it on a daily basis. Believe me, I am more guilty of it than most.

I'll admit, I see the world like this: I'm 25. I've spent the past two and a half years working toward a goal that was nearly impossible to achieve. I've hit road blocks. I've changed my life goals at least three times since I graduated college. I'm about to move back in with my parents and start from square one in a completely different direction.

I don't say this heavy heartedly. Yes, it's easy to feel beaten down. And I know I'm not the only one and my situation can be much worse. The point of the matter is that while all this is going on I've managed to have a ball doing it because of the people I've met along the way. You make it worth it, all of you. From those of you I barely talk to down to the ones I see on a daily basis.

"The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent; but if we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death -- however mutable man may be able to make them -- our existence as a species can have a genuine meaning and fulfillment. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light."

- - Stanley Kubrick - -

A couple of weeks ago I posted the above quote on a certain social networking site dealing with faces and books. My aunt asked me if I agreed with the philosophy. To paraphrase, I said yes. To elaborate, I have managed to find my light in the people I surround myself with and those shared experiences between us. I consider myself astoundingly lucky to have been to the places I've been, but infinitely luckier to have been able to share those experiences with my friends, my family, and those friends who have become my family. For that, I am thankful each and every day.

My challenge to you, the unfortunate reader who has stuck with this post up to this point, is to find your light if you haven't already. Find the things that are meaningful enough to hold on to. I can attest that they make life infinitely more interesting, more challenging, and more amusing.

We live in a world where it is already tough to be a 20-something trying to start or find your way in the world. One that makes it increasingly easier to be less humble and more pessimistic about the hand we're dealt. Everyone has a way to get through the bad parts of life; a light to guide them. Mine is my friends and family. To them, and I know I don't enough, I say thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my shriveled, sarcastic, oft pessimistic heart.

To you, I say find your meaning. When you do, take time out to be thankful for it every single day. It can, and will, make a world of difference.