Thanksgiving is a day set aside to express gratitude. That implies we ought to be able to recognize and acknowledge that we have plenty for which to be grateful. But, according to some researchers, many of us aren’t able to do that. A study conducted by Dr. Chris Boyce of the University of Warwick demonstrated that many of us are victims of chronic dissatisfaction. We may work long hours and make substantial gains in material wealth, but that doesn’t necessarily lead to greater satisfaction or gratitude. Why? Dr. Boyce discovered that we don’t feel satisfied with our material well-being unless we’re pulling ahead of our neighbors. What we actually have is of less importance in stimulating our gratitude than where we stand relative to others. And since someone is always a step or two ahead of us, we fall victim to a frustratingly endless cycle of aspiration.
This week, when we read about an experience of Rev. John Boyle, we began to wonder about these things. What if instead of hoping to surpass our neighbors, our goal became to serve them? Might that help to make us grateful for many aspects of our lives we take for granted?
John Boyle’s story began on a cold day in April of 1945. He and other American GIs were engaged in liberating the infamous Dachau concentration camp. Boyle was staring in horror and disbelief at railroad boxcars piled with corpses of prisoners that Nazi guards had shot upon learning that American forces were coming, when he noticed someone walking toward him. Boyle said he began, instinctively, to reach for his gun, but then noticed that the shabbily dressed man approaching him was smiling and his face was streaked with tears. The man began speaking in German and broken English, “Danke, danke. Thank you, thank you.” Of course, something he scarcely dared to hope for had happened. He had been a prisoner, but he had survived. He had been saved, and he was grateful.
The man then put his hand into his shirt pocket and pulled out a dirty looking crust of bread. He explained that his good friend had given him this piece of bread just before he was to be taken away and shot. Bread was a coveted item among the starving prisoners, and the man who was slated to die wanted to pass on the bread to his friend. And now, the liberated prisoner wanted, in turn, to pass on the most valuable item in his possession. He gave Boyle his crust of bread out of sheer gratitude.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving today, will we be able to recognize and acknowledge that we have plenty for which to be grateful? That we have so much to give to others? Consider the relationships that have sustained us, experiences that have shaped us, meaningful endeavors that fulfill us, and a future of wondrous possibilities that awaits us. It’s enough. In fact it’s more than enough, thank God. Danke, danke.
We have so much to pass on! Doesn’t it make you feel grateful?
