On Being Thankful by Wil Hough
As the yearly American commemoration of the Pilgrim festival falls upon us once again, I am reminded of an adage professed to me by a friend: the answer to everything is being thankful. Of course, the concept of being thankful on Thanksgiving Day should be a no-brainer for all of us—but is it, really?
I didn’t totally agree with my friend at first and thought his sentiment seemed naively simplistic. After much reflection, though, what I came to understand about the concept of thankfulness began to inform many of my compositions. Once I explored its existential aspects, I found I could weave the idea into an unlimited horizon of topics, but first I had to embrace the romance between pain and creativity.
“How,” I asked him, “can such a simple concept cover everything … everything …how?”
“That’s just it,” he answered. “The fact that it is such a simple answer is why it works so well. It is a matter of simplifying each and every issue down to the basics. No matter how bad things can be there is always a positive upon which to focus. It is a matter of accentuating the positive.”
His answer left me even more confused. “What’s so simple about that? If you ignore problems they do not go away, dude.”
“No, but rather than building resentment for what is bad, expressing thankfulness for what is good can provide renewed energy to face troublesome issues from a fresh perspective. However, problem solving is not what this is all about.”
“No?”
“No, it is more about attitude—about not letting crap get you down. Face it, Wil, there are just some things we have no control over. Not every problem can be solved. Like no matter how healthy a life we live, sooner or later we are still going to die.”
“And,” I added, “with the way I’ve been feeling lately, dying no longer seems like such a bad thing.”
“See,” he laughed, “you are already getting it. There’s a good side to everything.”
“Pollyanna,” I said in resignation.
“No, not at all,” he replied, looking somewhat offended. “Look, what good comes of crying over trashed dreams and such? It’s like hanging onto a grudge. You just become embittered. However, there is always something to be thankful for—be it a friend, a cool breeze, or something to write about. You are a writer, are you not? What the hell do you think people like to read about? Is it not someone else’s troubles? Leapin’ lizards. If you have trouble, at least you should be thankful for the gift of a fresh plot line.”
And that was where the whole issue of writing from a thankful perspective jumped up and smacked me upside the head. I doubt it is necessary to say anything about Pollyanna except that a writer made a lot out of a girl with a positive attitude. How many other novels have fed from that trough?
Remember that no matter how bad things might be they could always be worse in (fill in the blank). Lately, my wife has taken to responding to troubles by stating, “At least it’s not cancer.” But even if it was and there were limited sands left in the hour glass, there would still be a bright side. Just think how freeing that knowledge could be regarding what to do with the rest of your life. It’s certainly better than having life cut short by a speeding bus.
My point is to take time this Thanksgiving to list what you are thankful for. I’m thankful I can get away with ending that last sentence with a preposition. And I’m thankful there’s all that food. There’s also the chance to be with family…or not. There’s the fact that we can still… well, that’s really for all you to come up with. I’m gonna deal with my own list poem just as soon as I can. For the moment, I’m actually thankful there’s so much else for me to do and that the sun will come up tomorrow.
Wil Hough is Poetry Editor and Graphics Editor for Rose & Thorn Journal.
great article
Regards
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