Giving Thanks: 2010 Edition

This year, I am in Israel. A place I really never thought I would go. And now I am here… looking for some semblance of purpose.

This place is full of purpose.

The populace here is surrounded by problems. They live in the shadow of war and go shopping with assault rifles. They know people who have died and have friends in captivity. And they smile. They laugh and smile every day.

The cab driver that shuffled me home one evening said that when we have these huge problems, we can be truly appreciative of the other stuff; the parts that slip through the cracks: the way she raises her eyebrows when I talk to her, sometimes, like she hears me with her entire body; the silly moments at breakfast; a warm touch from a friend; inside jokes that bind us with secret emotions to our loved ones.

Spending this year as I have, owning nothing I can’t carry, and with friends for only days at a time, I like to think that I truly appreciate these things. I know that I crave them. I see my friends and loved one in my dreams. I smile when I remember these parts of my life that have formed me into what I am. Daily, I am struck by something that reminds me of how uniquely magical this life is.

I have relied on strangers for so much this year. I have no one with me, and I must ask directions, food, lodging, honesty, transport, and anything else I need to survive from complete strangers. Some of them remain that way, while others have truly touched my heart and become brilliant stars in my universe.

This year, I spend Thanksgiving on a military base, surrounded by kids with guns who all have stories of their own. Every place I go reminds me of how much I love the USA and how fortunate I am to have been born there.

I am thankful for American smiles, and all the doors they open.

I am eternally grateful for the memories I have that keep my heart warm in the cool and my mind focused on the goal and remind me that in order to have memories like this we must live everyday with purpose and love.

Hope: the belief that all this will lead to something even greater. The hope that I will create something great with my experiences and be able to give all that I have back to the world in some fashion.

Never take something for free. A very wise warrior told me this.

I try to go out of my way to tell everyone how thankful I am for their help. It is the people who enrich and affect my life daily that will help me to give back to the world around me. If I haven’t had the opportunity to take you by the hand and look you in the eye and express my thanks for the influence you have had on my life recently, then know that I am speaking to you now.

Thank you. Thank you for all that you do and all that you are and all that you have been to me.

In the USA, today is a day of Thanksgiving. Today, in this far off place, I give thanks to you; for you.