Don't Let the Grinch Steal Thanksgiving

Don't Let the Grinch Steal Thanksgiving
by Greg Asimakoupoulos

In Whoville the Grinch was quite greedy and mean.
The envy within him caused him to turn green.
Ungrateful and jealous, this monster-like grouch
spent Thanksgiving morning curled up on the couch.
No holiday baking. No holiday fun.
The number of chairs at his table was one.

It seemed that his appetite wasn't for food.
He always was stuck in the stuff-buying mood.
"Why cook up a turkey?" He said to himself.
"I'd rather add stuff to what's stuffed on my shelf."

The stores were all closed for the Great Day of Thanks.
But that was no problem. The green prince of pranks
could shop by computer to his heart's content.
And clicking his mouse, the Grinch spent and he spent.

The Great Day of Thanking went by really quick
and by spending and buying the Grinch got real sick.
but nobody knew it. And nobody cared.

For Grinchers are selfish and Grinches don't share.
And if you are wondering the point of this rhyme,
then keep reading on past the end of this line.

In the -ville we inhabit there isn't a Grinch.
but sometimes we act just like him cause we're rich.
We buy what we want without batting an eye.
We silence our kids' "gotta-haves" when they cry.
We love to go shopping and spend major cash
while throwing away what's still good with the trash.

We envy our neighbor's new car and new boat,
and find ourselves lusting to have her mink coat.
We want a new kitchen. New drapes would be fine.
And oh don't we love how our hardwood floors shine?

We long for the latest. We crave what is new.
We're not satisfied having one. We need two.
Two big screen TV sets. Two Lexus. Two homes.
There's two spouses working to service the loans.

And though when we're scraped we bleed red not Grinch-green,
our selfish Grinch tendencies still can be seen.
Our hearts are thing-centered. They aren't good at thanks.
They start to beat stronger at Best Buy and banks.

It's hard to be grateful when there's more to buy.
We can't track our assets. In truth, we don't try.
Instead we're inclined to add up what we need.
First this and then that and then? Look at our greed!

And even on this day when turkey is king
we aren't satisfied with a leg and a wing.
We need mashed potatoes. We need candied yams.
We need beans and biscuits plus two kinds of jams.
There's tossed greens and Jell-O and cranberries too;
At least we are grateful our chompers still chew.

But gratitude's not way high up on our list.
We feel so entitled it tends to get missed.
But that is not all we ungrateful folk do.
There's something that turns us a Grinch-greenish hue.
We rarely if ever say "I'm satisfied."
And if once we said it, it's likely we lied.

If we are forever fixated on more,
we can't be contended. Contentment's a chore.
Contentment is foreign. Contentment ain't fun.
And why should we settle when our dreams aren't done?

Why settle indeed? Because deep in our soul
we feel's something's missing. It feels like a hole.
It's really a hunger that's long been ignored
by Grinch-like behavior that's caused us to hoard.

But, hey, it's Thanksgiving. The hungry are filled.
Let thirsts, dreams and longings be quenched, met and stilled.
No turkey is needed. A ham will not do.
The feelings you long for hide deep within you.

Start counting your blessings. Look back, not ahead.
Be done being selfish. Be grateful instead.
Be grateful for fingers, for eyelids that close.
Be grateful that you can still smell with your nose.
Be grateful for legs that allow you to walk.
Give thanks that the tongue in your mouth lets you talk.

Give thanks for your children. Give thanks for your spouse.
Give thanks for your over-stuffed "imperfect" house.
Be done with Grinch yearnings. Let thanks fill your heart.
Acknowledge God's goodness. That's where it must start.

30 Things I've Learned

I stumbled across this list on a web site today, which I thought had some great things to say, and just wanted to share. Enjoy!

1. There comes a point in life when you get tired of chasing everyone and trying to fix everything, but it’s not giving up.  It’s realizing you don’t need certain people and things and the drama they bring.
2. If a person wants to be a part of your life they will make an obvious effort to do so.  Don’t bother reserving a space in your heart for people who do not make an effort to stay.
3. If you want to fly, you have to give up the things that weigh you down – which is not always as obvious and easy as it sounds.
4. Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing.
5. Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success.  You don’t fail by falling down.  You fail by never getting back up.  Sometimes you just have to forget how you feel, remember what you deserve, and keep pushing forward.
6. When you get to know people with different ethnic backgrounds, from different cities and countries, who live at various socioeconomic levels, you begin to realize that everyone basically wants the same things.  Theywant validation, love, happiness, fulfillment and hopes for a better future.  The way they pursue these desires is where things branch off, but the fundamentals are the same.  You can relate to almost everyone everywhere if you look past the superficial facades that divide us.
7. The more things you own, the more your things own you.  Less truly gives you more freedom.  Read The Joy of Less.
8. While you’re busy looking for the perfect person, you’ll probably miss the imperfect person who could make you perfectly happy.  This is as true for friendships as it is for intimate relationships.  Finding a companion or a friend isn’t about trying to transform yourself into the perfect image of what you think they want.  It’s about being exactly who you are and then finding someone who appreciates that.
9. Relationships must be chosen wisely.  It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company.  There’s no need to rush.  If something is meant to be, it will happen – in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason.
10. Making a thousand friends is not a miracle.  A miracle is making one friend who will stand by your side when thousands are against you.
11. Someone will always be better looking.  Someone will always be smarter.  Someone will always be more charismatic.  But they will never be you – with your exact ideas, knowledge and skills.
12. Making progress involves risk.  Period.  You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first.
13. Every morning you are faced with two choices:  You can aimlessly stumble through the day not knowing what’s going to happen and simply react to events at a moment’s notice, or you can go through the day directing your own life and making your own decisions and destiny.  Read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
14. Everyone makes mistakes.  If you can’t forgive others, don’t expect others to forgive you.  To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you.
15. It’s okay to fall apart for a little while.  You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well.  You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either – cry if you need to – it’s healthy to shed your tears.  The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again.
16. We sometimes do things that are permanently foolish just because we are temporarily upset.  A lot of heartache can be avoided if you learn to control your emotions.
17. Someone else doesn’t have to be wrong for you to be right.  There are many roads to what’s right.  You cannot judge others by your own past.  They are living a different life than you.  What might be good for one person may not be good for another.  What might be bad for one person might change another person’s life for the better.  You have to allow people to make their own mistakes and their own decisions.
18. Nobody is perfect, and nobody deserves to be perfect.  Nobody has it easy.  You never know what people are going through.  Every one of us has issues.  So don’t belittle yourself or anyone else.  Everybody is fighting their own unique war.
19. A smile doesn’t always mean a person is happy.  Sometimes it simply means they are strong enough to face their problems.
20. The happiest people I know keep an open mind to new ideas and ventures, use their leisure time as a means of mental development, and love good music, good books, good pictures, good company and good conversation.  And oftentimes they are also the cause of happiness in others.
21. You can’t take things too personally.  Rarely do people do things because of you.  They do things because of them.
22. Feelings change, people change, and time keeps rolling.  You can hold on to past mistakes or you can create your own happiness.  A smile is a choice, not a miracle.  True happiness comes from within.  Don’t make the mistake of waiting on someone or something to come along and make you happy.
23. It’s much harder to change the length of your life than it is to change the depth of it.
24. You end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did.
25. When you stop chasing the wrong things you give the right things a chance to catch you.
26. One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like everyone else.
27. Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things.  Read The Book of Awesome.
28. Anyone can make a difference.  Making one person smile can change the world.  Maybe not the whole world, but their world.
29. Everything is a life lesson.  Everyone you meet, everything you encounter, etc.  They’re all part of the learning experience we call ‘life.’  Never forget to acknowledge the lesson, especially when things don’t go your way.  If you don’t get a job that you wanted or a relationship doesn’t work, it only means something better is out there waiting.  And the lesson you just learned is the first step towards it.
30. Regardless of how filthy your past has been, your future is still spotless.  Don’t start your day with the broken pieces of yesterday.  Every day is a fresh start.  Each day is a new beginning.  Every morning we wake up is the first day of the rest of our life.