A Perverse Look at Thanksgiving Wishes

 

 

 

It’s that time of year again.  The time when the calendar tells us that we should take a moment to think about all those things, situations, forces and relationships for which we are thankful.   I thought I’d share a few from my long list:

 



 

·        I’m thankful that I have people on my team who challenge me;

·        I’m thankful that I have clients who are demanding of me;

·        I’m thankful for competitors that want what I have;

·        I’m thankful that I grew up in a household lacking abundance;

·        I’m thankful to be experiencing the aches and pains of middle age;

·        I’m thankful that I have been hurt by others;

·        I’m thankful that I’ve been broke…more than once;

·        I’m thankful that I have had products, services and businesses fail;

·        I’m thankful that I have children who no longer “need” me;

·        I’m thankful that I don’t have all the money that I want;

·        I’m thankful that I have made more than my share of mistakes in life;

·        I’m thankful that there’s more that I don’t know;

·        I’m thankful that every day I’m reminded of my imperfection.

 

This might seem a perverse list of things for which to be thankful.  But when I reflect on my life and that which is before me, I am most thankful to have been handed (and created) many challenges.  I often say that we learn little from success; that its life’s failures that make us who we are.  I’ve had my share of “learning experiences.”  I look forward to many more.

 

As you sit down with family and friends on this Thanksgiving Day, I ask that you consider not just all the grand things that you have experienced, acquired and accomplished; but also all those challenges along the way that have helped you become the person that you are. 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Al Cleinman

 

 

Comments

[Jenalyn Jotie]

Mr. Cleinman, thank you so much for reminding us that life's little challenges are the seeds of greatness! I look forward to hearing your wisdom in person at Nova Southeastern University's Graduate Connections Grant event.

-Jenalyn Jotie, 3rd year optometry student