Thankful Thursdays - (Practicing Mindfulness)

Each year on the fourth Thursday of November, families and friends gather together to give thanks for their blessings. In recent times, we have endured fires, floods, hurricanes, a world-wide pandemic and financial upheaval. From The Corner Home Office presents THANKFUL THURSDAYS several times during the year with reasons to give thanks all year long.

November is a month dedicated to honoring our veterans. From the beginning of this country, we have had wars in many lands and for many purposes. The brave service people who survived those wars did so often at a great personal expense.

Some lost limbs. Some lost mental acuity or memory altogether. Some lost the ability to interact with their loved ones.

We have benefitted from their actions.It is imperative that we maintain gratitude for their sacrifices. Honor them. Thank them. Respect them. We might not always agree with the government’s reasons for war, but we still have the debt to honor and remember those who served for us. Veterans Day, on November 11, is to honor those who are still here, not the ones we have lost. We should revere not ignore them or become oblivious to them.

On the fourth Thursday of November, we celebrate the Federal holiday of Thanksgiving. Many myths have circulated about the origin of this holiday.

William Bradford was from England. He came to America on the Mayflower, becoming governor of Plymouth, Massachusetts. He wrote Of Plymouth Plantation beginning in 1630 about the early settlers from 1620-1646. By 1780, his journal had disappeared. It was eventually returned to Massachusetts about 1897.

Sarah Josepha Hale was a writer, activist for women’s issues and influential editor. She was the author of Mary Had A Little Lamb. She discovered Bradford’s journal learning of the various fall harvest celebrations of the early settlers. At that time, there were celebrations in several states varying from October through January. In 1846, she began writing presidents lobbying for a unified federal holiday to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Hale wrote Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan and finally Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln saw fit to establish this Federal holiday as a way to bring the nation together following the Civil War. He established the holiday in 1863 to take place on the last Thursday in November. In 1941, President Franklin Delanor Roosevelt altered the day to the fourth Thursday in November. This was to spare any confusion during the years there were five Thursdays in November.

As mentioned in an earlier blog, we have plenty of time to confront negative forces and situations. By taking just a few minutes each Thursday to be thankful for the many blessings that are bestowed upon us, we lend a bit of balance to our lives. We need to show our youth as well that there is good and bad, happy and sad, challenges and blessings.

Watch for future blogs regarding THANKFUL THURSDAYS. Explore our website at https://www.lifeskillsacademy.expert
We welcome your comments, questions and interests as we all try Mastering The Game Of Life.

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