Dear Friends,
Over the years, around this time of year I have sat in my study talking with someone, walked on trails with a friend, talked late into the night with someone on the phone, or made a journey with a loved one or friend next to me in the car or plane.
It has stuck with me how often these stories from this time of year are stories of pain, and sadness, stories of murder of a dear one, stories of divorce and division, stories of grief and loss. It often feels like to me all the burdens of the year gather themselves up to this time.
I’ve recently been re-reading a favorite author, the late Brian Doyle. He wrote: “On January 1st of 2012, I narrowly escaped death in a near car collision with two of my best friends in the car beside me. The incident made me think about all the unfinished conversations in my life, all of the phone calls I had ended without an ‘I love you,’ and all of the loose ends I had with people I cared about. I had always tried my best to be thankful and polite to everyone, whether it was my Grandma or the barista at Starbucks; but it never felt like enough.”
He spent the next 11 months thinking about what this meant to him. And on Thanksgiving night he decided to spend the next year thanking one person each day for their presence and impact on his life.
This step from a near fatal accident is a resurrection story. It is a story of surprise, of hope, of counterintuitive action from a painful moment. This seems like gospel to me.
I have had conversations recently with people talking about “mutual aid.” What does it mean? I think it means things like what Brian Doyle is taking the time to do and see. I bet those conversations he had with people that next year changed his life for the better. He was able to see something he had never seen before. He was able to see some light that had been hidden.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Keep tellin’ the Story,
Mike
Enjoy this lovely version of “Come Ye Thankful People Come.”
This week’s takeaway: The jolt of the pains and burdens of life surprising us, can give way to new opportunities for caring and mutual aid.