Last Sunday was Veteran’s Day. It is a special day in the US. Veterans Day is an official public holiday observed annually on November 11, honoring military veterans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Veterans Day coincides with other holidays around the world, including Armistice Day and Remembrance Day which all mark the anniversary of the end of World War I, which was at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. An armistice literally means a cessation of arms. It can also mean a truce between opposing sides.  It didn’t mean a forever end to the fighting, however, as WWII erupted beginning in 1939. But those who were alive during those days were very thankful for the war to stop.

At the urging of major U.S. veteran organizations, Congress renamed Armistice Day to Veteran’s Day in the US in 1954. This Veteran’s Day marked the 100th anniversary of the cease-fire.  In church this weekend we honored the veterans in attendance and it was a touching few minutes of recognizing, thanking and applauding. It seems appropriate as we are celebrating harvest season and Thanksgiving to be thankful for the freedom we enjoy and for those who risked their lives to protect that freedom. 

I believe we often take our lifestyle here for granted and frequently spend more time complaining than giving thanks. I have spent a good amount of time in California the past few months, and I have done my share of complaining about the traffic and driver behavior here.  It may seem somewhat hilarious (and believe me, it can be), but I have complained about things I can only control by my driving and attitude from the driver’s seat.  Perhaps I should be thankful that I can drive. And while complaining I am likely heading to the grocery store or restaurant for food to eat or to the magnificent date palm tree groves in La Quinta to go for a bike ride. Really Brian, just exactly what again are you complaining about?  

I recently read about a woman from Yarmouth, Massachusetts who turned 100 years old on Sunday. How cool is that?  I wonder if Nicki Dunn Benson complained about being old or living on beautiful Cape Cod.  I once lived in Yarmouth.  It is a lovely place for sure, but with all the tourists, the traffic in the summer was terrible! Sorry, I digress and laugh at the same time.  Think about reaching the age of 100 years.  Becoming that old is still such a phenomenon and foreign concept I can’t imagine.  What do you think?  Will you be thankful or flat out sick and tired of hanging around by then?  The article I read described a celebration with the family on Nikki’s special day.  Celebrating sounds happy and fun so it is highly likely that Nikki is still thankful at 100.  And yet, it mentions her loss of two husbands and a daughter to death.  

On Veteran’s Day, I called my younger brother Barry to thank him for his service.  Barry served in Iraq during Desert Storm.  We who know and love him are thankful for more than his service during that time.  We are also thankful that he came home alive.  His friend in the tank brigade he operated in was not so fortunate.  Two tanks ahead of Barry in the formation, his friend lost his life when hit by air fire. I am always very sorry for that family and grateful that my baby brother made it home physically unscathed.

As you are reading this blog, I hope you are in contemplation mode.  That is always my aim when I write these as they come from deep inside my spirit.  My intent is to always help others be better and live better and love better.  I believe if you do that you will have more contentment and have greater confidence and positive influence in your world.  

If you are a manager/leader, are you encouraging, inspiring and motivating your team members to continuously improve?  If you are a team member without a management title are you still making a difference and aspiring to help your fellow workers to close the gap between who they are and who they want to be?  If you are a parent do you have the courage to do your best to help your child get to know who they are and what they want and then be self-assured enough to cheer them on to get there?  If you are in a relationship do you care enough to be honest and do the right thing, regardless of the outcome? If you answer yes to these questions, I’ll bet you are a grateful heart and often express how thankful you are for the things in life that many of us take for granted or worse, believe we will lose one day. In the Christian Bible, Matthew 25:35 reads “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Bobby McFerrin’s popular song “Don’t Worry Be Happy” contains this wisdom-filled lyrics:

Here’s a little song I wrote

You might want to sing it note for note

Don’t worry, be happy

In every life we have some trouble

But when you worry you make it double

Don’t worry, be happy

And if you are happy, how can you not be also thankful?  Happiness is not a guarantee and none of us are always happy.  But there is one thing we can do, and that is to have an attitude of thanksgiving regardless of some trouble.  If you are not thankful, you will be stressful and that will probably create difficulties you rarely consider. So, during this season why not rise above the traffic, the trouble and the worry?  Who knows, it just may become a happy habit of thanksgiving.