It was Thanksgiving Day circa 1968 my family and I were at a relative’s home. I was sitting with a group of my cousins as my Uncle David, as part of the dinner blessing, began to poll each of us; “…tell me, what are you thankful for?”
The process migrated through all in attendance and then all eyes turned toward Uncle David. He has a wonderfully resonant voice and when sufficiently inspired he can charge a room rivaling the very best of any Pentecostal Preacher – but at this moment, he was silent, his eyes caressing the faces of those in the room and then, as I recall it, he said, “…I am thankful too, so many different faces, so many different expressions of things to be grateful for. Isn’t it all so amazing, did you notice the contrast? Each of us had something different to be thankful for…and yes, there is always more to be grateful for. Never, ever, stop finding things to be grateful for but also, remember to never forget to express your thanks for the willingness to be a part of giving; it helps one to remember that they are a part of a process that God himself made possible.”
Over the last couple of years, for various reasons, I’ve taken to observing various contrasts and how their occurrences create for us the texture of life without which we have not sense of “either”/”or”. For example, as humans, if we had no distinct characteristics would we know that we weren’t someone else? Or how would you ever appreciate a star-filled sky if the back-drop of the evening sky were the same color as the stars? For that matter, what would the concept of “color” mean if the contrasts of color didn’t exist? Interesting? Forgive me, as many of you know by now, I’m prone to these types of abstract thoughts.
If Uncle David were to ask me this Thanksgiving Day, “Curtis, what are you thankful for?” I would say, “Uncle David, I am thankful for contrasts…” and quite possibly, like you, he might also respond with that curious head-tilt as well. Yes, I’m smiling because I can actually picture him doing that.
Let me share with you just a few of the contrasts that I am most thankful for, perhaps you will find them of interest:
- Want & Fulfillment – Gives each a sense of purpose. Seeing or knowing need and providing the opportunity for one to engage in or be the benefactor of an act of grace.
- Inspiration & Amorphic – The vibrant pallet of creations potential comes to life through various mechanisms. Man is both “potential” and simultaneously a most capable “mechanism” whereby the pallet of creations potential is brought to life.
- Certainty & Apathy – The idea of certainty is much more than mere faith, it is the attribute of absolute that accompanies the expression “I know.” It begins with hope, matures in to faith and refines to absolute. Humans demonstrate their very best attributes in the process of moving from apathy (or hopelessness) to certainty.
- Perfect & Imperfection – These two define what, for many, becomes the idea of love. I love going to work, I love what I do, I love being alive, I love you and so on. The movement from one position (Imperfection) through the process of being more, being better and ultimately to being made Perfect is the process of potential being brought to life, the idea that because you exist and participate in a perfecting act the entire process is made possible. This may, quite possibly be, what love may be all about; the process of required components coming together such that they each enable the other to become perfected. I find that idea quite lovely. This very process is ever present in the many contrasts which exist all around us and represents our greatest source of positive outcome. In deed, we need to provoke this process in one another, holding each other accountable not to the appearance of our individual faults, which our various contrasts might infer, but to how each may move through the process of perfecting to become the fullest possible expression of potential.
For these and for many other reasons I offer Thanksgiving for Contrasts, without which I would never know to be grateful. I try to be alert to the fact that there are still so many things to be thankful for and as my Uncle David knew, the only shortage is gratitude.
Curtis C. Greco, Founder
