Thanksgiving

Received this text below in an e-mail this morning and it just struck me. It's always been a struggle for me to be happy where I was at the time that I'm there. I always tend to look to tomorrow or yesterday for happiness, despite my desire to be satisfied and happy with where I am. I just had to share as it's one of the cries of my heart.

When I was four, I wished I could go to the first grade like Mike Munoz, who lived three doors down.

When I got into the first grade I wished I was in third, because you get to go on field trips.

When I was in third I wished I was in fifth, because you could be a safety patrol.

When I was in fifth I wished I was in sixth, because you get to go to Austin to see the capital.

When I was in sixth I wished I was in junior high, because you get to play tackle football.

When I was in junior high I spent Friday nights watching high school football under the lights, and high school cheerleaders bouncing up and down on the sidelines; and I wished I was in the tenth grade.

When I was in the tenth grade my face looked like an Eggo waffle; and my grades were circling the drain; and I wished I was already graduated and gone.

When I was a freshman in college I wished I was a sophomore so my fraternity brothers would stop rubbing my head for luck.

When I was a sophomore I wished I was a senior so I could be done with 8:00 classes and higher learning forever.

When I was a senior I thought maybe you have to get married for your life to work, so I did. Three months into marriage I wished I was single. Six months into marriage I was convinced that the secret to happiness is more money, so I tried. Two years into marriage, I thought if we had a baby life wou ld be happy. Once we had a baby I realized that I wouldn’t be the baby anymore, which made me wish I was the center of attention more than ever.

It’s easy to spend our life sailing toward the next buoy on the horizon. We bet everything on the new year, the next sale, the new house, the winning number, the better job, the right relationship…believing that if we ever reach it we’ll find what we’re looking for.

That is the story of my life until I was 45 and started realizing I’d spent 40 years wishing and waiting, rather than living.

This Thanksgiving take a quick inventory of what you have in your life now; not what you wish for. Let’s experience Thanksgiving in the present tense.