Gobble, gobble. Thanksgiving is a core American holiday where many get to spend quality time with their friends, family and loved ones, maybe watch some football on T.V., enjoy a home-cooked meal – and all this on a weekday!
For us history buffs, Thanksgiving first came about in 1621 when the Pilgrims held a three-day event in Plymouth, Massachusetts to celebrate their first harvest in the New World. Native Indians were also invited and took part in the festivities, which included hunting, games and feasting on “fowl” and venison. Historians speculate that wild turkeys, ducks, geese, swans and/or passenger pigeons may have been on the table (Facebook had not been invented yet so no pictures for evidence). Wheat, corn, barley, peas and seafood (such as eel, bass, cod and shellfish) may have been served as well. In 1863, during the Civil War, Thanksgiving became a national holiday when President Lincoln proclaimed a national day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”
Times sure have changed since the first Thanksgiving, and even since the Civil War. For many Americans, the completion of the harvest has lost its significance since we are no longer an agrarian society. Much has changed but regardless, giving thanks never goes out of style.
At Wealth Legacy Group®, Inc. there is so much to give thanks for … starting with a career that now begins its 39th year serving clients. What a privilege it is to get to know and help clients achieve a lasting, positive legacy within their family, business, the lives of their employees and the world at large. I love what I do more than ever and the “tribe” at WLG with whom I am privileged to work with … how many others can say the same? For all this, I am truly grateful.
Finally, I am also thankful that the rancorous political ads and contentious presidential election are over! That said, now comes the hard work … to pull back together as Americans and get this country moving again. Those who have come before us have given their blood, sweat and tears to create what we have today. How grateful I am to be an American. With all its faults and bruises, there is no country I would rather live in, and I suspect you would say the same.
Thanksgiving is our designated day in the U.S. to be thankful for the many blessings in our lives – big and small. A mentor, Ken Blanchard, challenged me with this question: what if I only had tomorrow the things for which I give thanks for today? How little or much would I have left? How about you? Daily giving thanks … not simply a single day.
“Imagine That™”!
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Written by R. J. Kelly – November 2016