Thanksgiving & Gratitude

Thanksgiving, 11/25/2020

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving!  So, what does that mean to you?  As you sit at the table with few or no guests, can you feel grateful?

Follow me on a thought experiment here: 

In a year where we've been exposed to so much pain, isolation and at times horror, what on earth can we be grateful for? How can we feel gratitude after the largest national disaster in 102 years?

In every disaster movie, we follow the path of a small group of people who face incredible danger.  Expand your focus now to every great epic tale of hero or heroine, whether Harry Potter, or biblical prophets (think Moses or Deborah) or real-life people like Harriet Tubman.  What is the classic tale of a hero?

We see ordinary people caught in a very bad situation.  They face fear, danger, pain, and horror along the way.  During this journey, they grow.  Despite periods where they feel they might break; they find a new path.  They harden to strength they never knew they had.  At the strangest moments, they still give kindness and stay true to themselves.  They find when the nightmare is over that they are different: wiser, stronger, more compassionate, more confident.  And yes, they are battle-scarred -- sometimes traumatized for a while. 

Now think about you and your colleagues.  How many people did you touch with kindness and compassion?  How many times did you come to work when you were afraid?  How many of your family and friends did you keep safe from COVID?  Or if you got sick-- even with other family members-- how many times were you still kind?  How determined were you to get well?

How many of you in COVID units were kind despite your fear?  How many of you in non-COVID units held space for every other awful illness our patients face?  How many of you supported a colleague?   How many of us comforted patients and families when visitors were restricted?

Did you know that you were this strong?  Did you know that you could face a disaster the size of which has never happened in the US in living memory? 

Can we be particularly thankful for our families at a time when so many are losing loved ones?  In a sea of bad news, can we be inspired by our colleagues? 

We are each on a hero's journey and collectively as well.  The nightmare will end -- as it has with every other plague in history.  You are the face of the frontline in the fight.  Your compassion and kindness means more than you will ever know to patients and to each other.  And when it is over, we will discover the gifts in the process. 

This Thanksgiving, I am so grateful for all of you.  Peace.