As Thanksgiving approaches I would like to again emphasize the importance of gratitude. I realize that I often write about what we are lacking, but it is important to remember that we still have so much for which we should be grateful. I once heard the question, if tomorrow you had only what you were thankful for today, what would you have left? Too often we forget to be grateful for the small things, as well as some of the big things we have had for so long that we tend to take them for granted. Henry David Thoreau boldly declared, “I am thankful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.” When we recognize all that we have, our hearts are filled with gratitude and humility. We are then filled with the desire to help others who don’t have what we do, so that they may feel the joy and gratitude we feel. Be grateful for all the mistakes you have made, they have made you better. Be grateful for the hardships you have endured, they have made you stronger. Be grateful for the joy you have felt, it will keep you going. Be grateful for those who fought for you in the past. Be grateful for those who do so now, who help you and lift you up. Be grateful for your knowledge, for most people live their whole lives without knowing what you know. Be grateful for the liberty you do have, because you can use it to obtain more liberty. Be grateful for your virtue, because you can use it to become more virtuous and help others do the same. I am grateful for these things. I am grateful for each page of every book that has given me knowledge. I am grateful for every teacher I have had that has done likewise. I am so beyond grateful that I know of the principles of liberty and tyranny, and for the means by which I can share it with others. I know that if we are grateful for what we have now, we will have the desire to accomplish so much more.

Yours truly,

Publius