A day to be mindful of 'what is'

It's tricky, this business of giving thanks.

That's not surprising, considering we're virtually hard-wired to seek more, to hope for better. Certainly our ancient forebears couldn't have spent a lot of energy giving thanks for yesterday's successes at hunting or gathering when today's hunger pangs were demanding attention.

We haven't changed so much. Who doesn't sometimes overlook what is before us to engage our imaginations in a list of what-ifs? What if we were better paid, better loved, in better health? What if we had tried harder at something that turned out to be important? What if we had bought that winning lottery ticket? What if we had invested in Google, and had indulged the opportunities that came our way for adventure or advancement? What if our leaders and the people around us behaved the way we wish they would?

Our nimble imaginations can curse us with wistfulness and regret if we dwell on what-if.

Harder, much harder, is to stay immersed in what-is. In fact, it would be nearly impossible to fully appreciate everything that "is" - and is good - on a given day. Can you imagine? Today, I didn't contract bird flu. Today, I left my house at the right time to avoid a collision on the highway. Today, no terrorist struck in my neighborhood, none of my tires went flat, no nuclear test went terribly awry. It would be exhausting to do that every day.

Maybe that's why we embrace the concept of one day a year that is devoted to gratitude for what is.

It is a wonderful exercise to consider our blessings. They're fluid things and as we take stock year after year, there are always additions and subtractions. Others can't count them for us. They are some of the few things uniquely our own. For all its breath-taking information, even the Internet can't answer for us the question of, "For what are we thankful?"

We can answer that today, even if we're not skilled at remembering it day-to-day. Our gratitude ought to be expressed, and there is no limit to how it can be done. We can be frivolous or earnest. We can be religious or secular. We can be solitary or social. It doesn't matter - gratitude is good for the heart.

It feels good, and it's good for us. We have an entire day to let our imaginations summon up the best parts of our lives. For many of us - if we take the time to think about it - we will find out we are better off than we knew. And even the most miserable among us may get a little peace by focusing on what is good in life for 24 hours. Tomorrow we can get back to normal, but today let us be better than normal.

Happy Thanksgiving and happy ruminating.