Time to be Thankful

I am a flawed person.
I spend a lot of time observing while standing at the merch table, and I see a great variety of people from many walks of life.  I see happy people, angry people, jealous people, sad people, and I thought I had people figured out, but I've been metaphorically looking in the mirror a lot lately, and I've realized that a lot of the problems I thought I saw in society are in fact shortcomings of my own personality.  I've always been stuck inside my head, alone with my thoughts, suspicions, ideas and fears, and I feel offended when others don't immediately recognize that it can be a struggle for me just to make it through the day.  It's very easy to pass judgement on each other based solely on outward appearance and those quick interactions that take place between us during every day life.  I find myself getting so wrapped up in my own life that I become completely oblivious to those around me, forgetting that each and every person I happen to pass by has their own world of troubles, adventures, excitements and heartbreaks.

I understand.
It is important to remember that these quick judgements and assumptions that I can make are based only on the small fraction of a person's world that they chose to let others in on.  Concentrating on that for a minute, I apply the same formula to myself and come to the conclusion that I can have a great deal of jealousy, mistrust, or false perspective towards someone only because that person may be reacting to a specific mood that I've presented them with.  When I think about it that way, I understand that I'm not so different from everyone else and it inspires me to be more outgoing, more understanding and more considerate.

I'm thankful.
This year will be the first Thanksgiving that I've been able to spend with my family since 2007.  If being away from that for 5 years has taught me anything, it's this:  Things will change, but not always the way I expect them to.  What was important to me back then is not necessarily relevant in my life today.  Taking that realization into account, I can see more clearly what is truly important to me and what I don't need to trouble myself with.  I'm thankful for family and friends who have always been there for me.  I'm thankful to live in a country where I am free to make my own mistakes and learn from them.  I'm thankful for forgiveness.  I'm thankful for all of you who read this and believe in what we do, and I'm thankful for a certain group of guys who make this blog possible through their talents and choices in life.  We're all a team, and it is important to work together to overcome disagreements, remembering that it's ok to have a different opinion from those around you, and instead of stepping on the dreams of one another in order to reach our own, we can lift each other up and achieve things greater than any one of us could imagine on our own.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  I look forward to seeing you all in the coming months and years!