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Live a life of gratitude

  • Published
  • By Col. Gary Goldstone
  • 375th Air Mobility Wing commander
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  There's nothing better than when family and friends gather around the table to share in a Thanksgiving feast. It's one time during the year when we can come together and enjoy a favorite dish, a friendly smile and a warm heart.

It's a time to make candied yams, to try not and start a fire with a fried turkey, and to gather in the backyard to play some football while the real cooks put the finishing touches on the holiday feast. There's usually a lot of talk about current events, and catching up on each other's lives. Laughter and gratitude permeate our home.

That is a feeling we should try to capture year-round, and we can do that by developing an attitude of gratitude. Gratitude is something that should be effortless. It shouldn't be hard to recognize the good in our lives, but there are those who manage to complain too often, who shower their teammates with negativity and who are too much like Scrooge.

There's a quote I came across that explains why gratitude is so important: "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, and confusion into clarity.... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow."

What a remarkable way to view life and our journey through it. Gratitude makes it full. I've seen those shows where children get everything they want, and yet these great kids are unhappy because things replace a true inner happiness. The problem with things is that there is never enough. Never enough toys or games or clothes or shoes to fill the emptiness created by a life that knows no simple joys.

When things are replaced by moments, memories, friendships and recognition of inner strengths and talents, only then can any of us make any sense of our place in the world. I like when my kids can enjoy something as simple as playing in the park, blowing bubbles or riding bikes together fascinating their minds and attention.

It doesn't have to change as we get older. Of course we must provide a home, food for our families and the necessities of life. But as we do those needful things, we can continue to cultivate gratitude for the simple things in our lives. Not only do we need to express gratitude but as John F. Kennedy said, we must live a life of gratitude.

For me, it partly means being thankful for work. Work can be demanding, and there are many long days that take me ... and all of us ... away from our loved ones, but being grateful to serve our nation gives me the energy to accomplish the tasks at hand. Being grateful that I have the health to go to work, deploy, fly and lead means that it's not drudgery. You might say that it's just seeing the glass half full instead of empty and that's partly true. The other part is just being thankful for the mental and physical abilities to accomplish the work. It's being grateful for the support system around me that includes my family, my executive staff and all of you who work equally hard and who are equally devoted to our nation.

There's an Estonian Proverb that says he who does not thank for little, will not thank for much. I want you to know that I am thankful for all the small and big ways you make work a pleasant place to be, for your dedication to your teammates, and for your willingness to serve and spend seven days in a recent fly-away exercise, support an outstanding change of command for Air Mobility Command and go right into a formal visit from our 18th Air Force commander! Through it all, you've been an example of professionalism and teamwork. Your efforts are appreciated and valued.

Now as we get ready to gather around our tables once again for some turkey and pumpkin pie, please know that my thoughts are with you and your families and many prayers of thanks are ascending upward in gratitude for you and because of you. Thank you and have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Air Power!