Giving Thanks

A colleague of mine recently joked that Chattanooga, Tennessee will soon be considered a suburb of Atlanta due to the sprawl that has taken place there in recent decades. This came to mind recently as I noticed how Halloween decorations are now immediately replaced with Christmas decorations in retail establishments from Walgreens to Macy’s. The one holiday which remained relatively untouched by commercialism (at least on the day itself), Thanksgiving, has been absorbed by the commercial sprawl of Christmas.

Unfortunately, I think this is a direct reflection of our culture. As the leader of a technology company, I certainly understand the mantra: Move quickly, Think ahead, Look forward. But this comes at a cost. Rarely are we encouraged to look back, to pause, to reflect on how we got where we are, what value there has been in the journey and who has traveled with us on that journey. Thanksgiving has historically been a time for that, one day a year set aside to pause.

Have we, as a culture, lost the ability to pause? Are we so consumed with the material, so driven by our to-do lists, so far down the rabbit hole that we cannot appreciate what – or who – is around us at any given moment?

It is easy to get caught up in the hype, to pat oneself on the back and say, “Look what I have accomplished.” But there is no such thing as a self-made man or woman. We have all gotten help getting to where we are. Some of us consider that much of that help has come, either directly or indirectly, from a higher source, the Divine. I am a blessed man, and I recognize that I have not gotten to this point on my own merit alone. The moment I forget that is the moment that I am in danger of losing myself in myself, and I believe that is the beginning of the end of a person’s success.

So to those who have traveled on this journey with me, even for just a few steps… Thank you. You have helped SHAPE me.

S.H.A.P.E.™ – Securing Higher Achievement and Personal Effectiveness™

Clifford Bailey