Giving Thanks in a Time of Concern

At last, we come to the time of year when we step back from our busy routines to be with family, to catch up with those we have not seen for a while, to share a simple or elaborate meal depending on your preferences, maybe even to get a bit more sleep or to enjoy a day without work.  But even as we take time to share a joyful Thanksgiving 2024 with family and friends, our concerns lurk nearby.  Maybe we are dealing with illness or some sadness in the family.  Or we try to avoid the news but can’t resist sneaking a peek at those darn phones and suddenly we remember our worries — the election, the new cabinet, the awful threats of harm that might come, the wars abroad, the economic uncertainty.  Turn off the phone and have another piece of pie!!

Oprah’s quote above provides some wise advice for today and all days.  Giving thanks is not about being unrealistic or putting on a false front.  But it IS about the realization every single day that we always have something — a person, a talent, an event, a situation — for which we can be grateful.  We should not hoard our gratitude while waiting for some great big thing to move us — rather, we should spend every penny of our gratitude each day on the people and things that help us to live good lives for the sake of all the others in our lives.

On Thanksgiving and all the days of this holiday season, let’s take a step back from obsessing about our big worries, and instead, focus on the daily opportunities for gratitude.  I know what I’m grateful for, today and every day:  the wonderful community we have here at Trinity, our great students, devoted faculty, talented staff, hard-working colleagues, generous benefactors, wise trustees, terrific friends and partners in the community.  I’m grateful to have fulfilling work every day — even if that work entails sometimes dealing with complaints about elevators or grades or bills, or sometimes the hard work of stretching our thin budget a little farther.  I’m grateful to have this work because our work together at Trinity is truly transformative for the students we educate and the lives we change through the power of this education.

I’m always grateful to those courageous and visionary Sisters of Notre Dame who had the best idea ever in the founding of Trinity in 1897, and their successors who sustained this incredible institution across 12 decades.

I’m so grateful to colleagues who always go the extra ten miles for our students, creatively and patiently moving the processes forward for learning and discovery and mastery of advanced knowledge.

I could make this list even longer — you see, once you start thinking about gratitude, it multiplies many times over!  Try it, and you’ll see that thinking about gratitude leaves little time for concerns.

But speaking of concerns, let’s also renew our faith in our ability to get through this moment in American history.   Trinity brings many gifts to our nation, and the work of our graduates has been transformative for many communities.   Our work continues to be important and meaningful each day.  Let’s concentrate on what we are able to do, do it with excellence and commitment, and always with gratitude for the privilege of being part of this amazing learning enterprise.

Thanks to all, and Happy Thanksgiving!