The Story and Spirit of THANKSGIVING

It’s Thanksgiving here in the US, and I wish all my readers a most happy and bountiful Thanksgiving. 

I’d like to share a piece written by my friend John Dealey.  Enjoy!

The Story and Spirit of THANKSGIVING 

Originally, about 200 colonists had started to make the crossing to America in two ships, the Speedwell and Mayflower. However, after many problems with the Speedwell, they were forced to return to England. The group was reorganized, the number reduced to fit the available room on the Mayflower - and the Speedwell, being unsafe to sail, was left behind.

The year was 1620 when 102 people, today called Pilgrims, boarded a tiny boat named the Mayflower and set sail from England. After 64 days with no land in sight, they finally spotted land; it was the “New World”. One year later, the group of survivors got together to review where they were and create more clarity about what had been accomplished.  They needed to make some very important decisions about their future.

Tremendous Challenges

Only one of two ships leaving England had reached the New World, so they immediately lost about half of their people. They had hoped to arrive in time to plant and harvest a crop, but they arrived too late in the year. They landed badly off course, and didn’t even have the authority to form a colony where they were. Their health was in general poor, they didn’t have much to eat, their shelter was not very adequate from the harsh weather, they were attacked from time to time by the native people, and they were in a new land that was very foreign to them.  As they came out of winter, more than three-fourths of the children were dead, their total number stood at about one-quarter of those who had originally planned to set sail from England.

Think about that for a minute. Think of some group of about two hundred people that you have been in. See some of those families gone completely; imagine your own family having lost one-half to three-fourths of the children and other beloved family members. As the leaders reviewed, it was pretty grim. For example, they dug 7 graves for every “home” built.

A Turning Point  

Then someone began to say, “Yes all that is all so. We can hang our heads and say ‘Oh woe for us’.    OR we can have the attitude ‘We made a decision, we are here.  Let’s look again and let’s look for some good things.  Let’s make the best of what we have. Let’s be thankful, let’s be joyful, and let’s make this adventure work out”.  In other words, we can focus on the good; we can see the glass as “half full” instead of seeing it as “half empty” or maybe in their case, “mostly empty. Initially there was some grumbling, then another voice chimed in, and said “Yes, let’s be thankful”, and another “Yes, let’s find the good”.

They decided to make a list, a NEW list. This time, only those things that were GOOD could be on the list (they realized the list they had before, they had been “looking at”/focusing on the BAD).  Between all of them, they came up with over 100 good things. Wow!! What a surprise!!  Their strength was renewed and they began to again feel hope and see marvelous possibilities in their new world. 

What We FOCUS on EXPANDS 

The FACTS had not changed, only their FOCUS or the ways they looked at those facts.  They chose to focus on what was good!  They decided to take more action in this new direction, to help make it “stick” if you will. They decided to throw a party, a party for the “Celebration of the Thankfulness they had Found” and so spread that thankful spirit to everyone, not just the leaders, in their little Colony.

An Attitude of Gratitude

The annual tradition of Thankfulness, caught hold. It reflected the true reality of the world. Overall, it’s been pretty successful. It started with only 50 folks in 1621. Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated by millions and millions, all over AMERICA and CANADA. One of the most well liked TV personalities in all of history, and herself a rags to riches story, says most all of her success began to come about after starting a “simple habit of written thankfulness”, and being consistent - a habit of writing down 3 things each day, in a Journal of Thankfulness. One wonderful family tradition at Thanksgiving is for everyone (from age 4 to 104) to tell one small thing that they are thankful for to the whole gathering. Then, if they want, they can also tell a very large thing, but first they must tell the small thing.As we enter into this year’s Thanksgiving Season, may we all take a lesson from those early Pilgrims, who had lost so very, very much.  Let us find a way to have more THANKFULNESS, in our lives, today, now, right this moment.

What are you grateful for today? *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
John Carpenter Dealey
C a t a l y s t G r o u p
a division of Dealey Ltd.
P.O. Box 600100, Dallas, Texas 75360
214.378.6000 fax 214.276.7548
www.SmileWorld.com