CNY Inspirations: Living thankfulness

This feature is coordinated by The Post-Standard, Syracuse.com and InterFaith Works of CNY. Follow this theme and author posted Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.
The United States has a holiday about saying thank you. Isn’t that amazing? We are not the only culture to do something like this, but it is still notable that we set aside a day specifically to say thank you.
Thanksgiving is not just about saying thank you, of course. It is about living thankfulness. Moreover, living thankfulness is not something we just do, but is something we cultivate by living thankfulness with one another. It is a disposition of the heart that includes fellowship, trust, and intention. It is looking at the things around you and saying, “I will live in relation to that person or that thing instead of just in relation to myself.” Living thankfulness is about seeing and raising up interconnections and disregarding divisions.
These days that is hard, but who cares. Let us do it anyway. Isn’t that what being an American is all about?
The Rev. Tim Hannon is a priest and rector at Christ Episcopal Church in Manlius, N.Y.