Thank you, thankful, thanks, it is all there. It is this root word, that drives all of these compound words to the same endpoint. Or does it?

Being thankful has become a cliché concept that has faded into the background of our culture. It now fills Pinterest boards, and is written on seasonal cards. Not only is the word used in contexts that diminishes its meaning, but also the meaning that it does has seems to be short lived.

As stereotypical Americans, we want more, more, and after that still more is “needed”. Nothing is ever good enough, always falling short of the high expectations that we set. This occurrence isn’t always true for Americans as a whole, nor for individuals, but when compared in a Venn diagram format, the overlap that holds this as a reality, is seen to outshine the rest.

So what is being thankful, how can we improve its sentimental value, and why does it even matter anyways?

1. Be real, be thankful.

Generally being thankful can be seen on the outside; the physical act of a person. If you are thankful for someone, you do nice things for them: i.e. write a card, give a gift card or hug them. But in all reality, in that moment of thankfulness, are you thankful for the person, or are you thankful for what they did?

The later produces a type of thankfulness that is feel good, but not deep. It is like the diet version of Oreos that taste good at first but then doesn’t deliver true satisfaction a little while later.

Just like Oreos, the real form of thankfulness it better too. Say it like you mean it, and find an aspect of the actual human that you are thankful for.

If you are thankful that they are a friend, that’s cool. Anyone can do that so what? Instead say, “I am thankful for what your character brings to our friendship.” This way the thankfulness is more heart felt, and comes across as the real deal.

2. Be heartfelt, be thankful.

Genuine thankfulness should be expresses all year around, replicating the amounts that it is generally shown in during the later days of November. Other than the name “Thanksgiving”, what makes this fall season a season of thanks giving? In all reality would we still contemplate what we were thankful for if there was not a holiday dedicated to it?

Usually when a holiday is put into place, it is to remember an occasion. At a first glance, Thanksgiving can be seen as a time to remind us to be thankful. But what if that glance doesn’t reveal all of the true emotion, or lack of underneath. If we are fake thankful, and just put on a show because it is what our culture does, are we really benefiting anyone? What about us, does doing this harm ourselves?

Is this holiday actually a good preparation for the Christmas season to come, on a deeper level than the food and seeing relatives, or is it just as superficial as the gravy made from a packet?

3. Be personal, be thankful.

So why does being thankful matter anyways? Is it even important? The latter can be responded to by the sheer amount of diverse cultures who hold this aspect as a norm not to be reckoned with.

I don’t know about you, but for me my earliest memory of this “norm”, all started with learning please and thank you. If I wanted something with out dealing with parental hassle, those words came out; I did the duty, so my prize would then follow. But by this mentality, the work thank is now associated with habit.

When was the last time that a thank you or I am thankful for…. actually meant something to you. In a way that truly changed your life for the better, because of the realization of where you would be if that occurrence in your life didn’t exist.

Our culture knows what it looks like to be thankful, but is that the kind of thankfulness really worth our time? Time is short, always running from the stash that we think that we have collected. With this is this type of thankfulness actually going to drive us to be better people; personally, and communally?

So what does it feel like to be thankful? And that is a question that is left for you to ponder. We have what it looks like down pat, but improving on its sentimental value and why it matters needs a lot of work.

My challenge to you is this: When you sit down at the table on the last Thursday of November, come up with three things that you are genuinely thankful for. Nothing superficial, but the deep things that keeps you up at night, and cause you to feel a plethora of emotion; the real stuff.

It is by doing this that the true spirit of Thanksgiving will reignite what it originally set out to do all of those years ago in America when she was young and new!