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Thanks living
November is at the top of my list of favorite months, for a number of different reasons. I was born on Thanksgiving morning (just a few years ago), and maybe that has given me a bias. The heart of hunting season comes in November as well, and there is likely a bias there as well. I thank President Abraham Lincoln, who signed a Proclamation of Thanksgiving on Oct. 3, 1963, giving us the holiday, and I regard the entire month of November as a wonderful time to reflect on some of life's deep lessons of thankfulness in the midst of bounty. Thankfulness is hard to contain; it naturally flows. That flow expresses itself in gratitude that "redounds" to the givers, and especially to the Supreme Giver, the God whom Lincoln called Providence in his proclamation. But I'm thinking in this column of a couple other outcomes or characteristics of a thankful life. The first is an abiding contentment, and the second is an active charity, by which I mean caring for and giving to others more needy than ourselves. Contentment The quality of contentment speaks of deep inner peace, rest, and satisfaction. I believe it relates directly to our sense of need for the blessing of God and others in our lives. Without this, the whole point of gratitude and thankfulness would be moot. It is all too easy to be drawn into a nervous quest for more of all this world has to offer, but contentment is the fruit of acknowledging we have been given more than enough already. Thankfulness is a key to living in the latter and not in the former. The Apostle Paul expressed it like this: "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content." (I Timothy 6:6-8) I don't think contentment means we stop working or pursuing or achieving. Rather, it involves an acknowledgement and appreciation for blessings received and a willingness to accept them as more than enough for today. As it relates to business, this is a challenging balance. I'm not advocating business sloth or failure, but rather, that in all of our business planning, goal-setting, and performance measurements, we remember to be contentedly thankful and manage our finances and businesses in that context. This reminds me of a story that I heard once about a Mexican fisherman. He was visited one day by someone from Wall Street and was asked about what his life consisted of day to day. He replied that he usually took his boat out fishing in the morning, sold his catch at market, took siesta in the afternoon and spent the evening with family and some friends. The financier tried to rally some big dreams in the fisherman, encouraging him to think about buying another boat, growing his business, and eventually selling it to fund retirement. "But what would I do then?" asked the fisherman. "Well," the Wall Street visitor replied, "you could virtually live your life on the beach...you could fish all morning, sleep all afternoon, and spend every evening with your loved ones!" Charity The other characteristic that I wanted to mention that follows a thankful life is charity. The word means more than just giving materially, but that is more what I am thinking of here. By definition, we can't really give to someone in need unless we acknowledge that we have an abundance, one worthy of being contented with and thankful for. Giving charitably tends to elevate those who are in need, through the abundance of those who have more. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church urging them to give funds to the needy in Macedonia, and here is how he described it: "For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened. But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want, that there may be equality. As it is written, he that had gathered much had nothing over, and he that had gathered little had no lack." (II Corinthians 8:13-15) In terms of economic systems, that almost sounds like communism, but that is distinctly not what Paul was talking about. It is charity, and charity involves "a willing mind" and a "cheerful giver." Furthermore, charity by definition involves those who have abundance and those who lack. For a variety of reasons, all societies have both. The concept of the common purse, essentially communism, was tried both at Jamestown and Plymouth early in American history, and in both instances it proved to be an epic failure. Yet capitalism without charity can lead to a number of other problems. These are some of my meditations as I think about Thanksgiving and thanks living this year. Contentment has been defined as being more happy with what we have than seeking something else to make us happy, and that comes pretty close to what I am trying to express. I have been challenged over the years with how one should best reconcile business management with living a life of thankfulness. I think the virtues of contentment and charity, which naturally flow from a thankful heart into a thankful life, represent two of the biggest keys. Editor's note: Greg Wolf is a consultant with Kennedy and Coe, LLC (www.kcoe.com) and works to help clients of the firm navigate toward better returns in all areas of their businesses. He is based in the firm's Pratt, Kan., office and can be reached at 620-672-7476.
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