dispatches from the new world of work

Thanksgiving 2009

In yesterday's post I offered up the epigraph from my forthcoming book, and my delight therewith. Namely:

"Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart."—Henry Clay

It strikes me that Mr. Clay's remark also works particularly well for a Thanksgiving post in the midst of, for many, a very tough year.

When I got back from my Angola-Saudi Arabia-Dubai-Ecuador-India-Etc. marathon, I tweeted about the fact that my greatest thrill (yes, thrill) was the Unmitigated Joy of the Ordinary: doing my laundry, chatting with neighbors at nearby Mach's Market, working through Susan's T'giving shopping list, and, yes, washing the dinner dishes (I don't use the dishwasher—I like the therapeutic part of hand washing).

I am not soft-peddling the loss of a job or a major reduction in hours or the like. Nonetheless, what we pretty much all do have is the opportunity to be thoughtful to others—to offer up "courtesies of a small and trivial character."

Add these kindred quotes to the "keeper" list:

"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble."—Helen Keller

"We do no great things, only small things with great love."—Mother Teresa

So how about dedicating Thanksgiving 2009 to purposefully Practicing Courtesies of a Small and Trivial Character?

(I started out this Wednesday by sending "Happy Thanksgiving" emails of no more than a few lines in length to about 80 or 90 people.) (As usual, the responses are pretty amazing—so much so that it almost makes the drill feel self-serving.) (Speaking of the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I just read that the pilgrim fathers and mothers preceded Thanksgiving by a fast day. I think that is a marvelous idea. Alas, I read the article after breakfast on Wednesday. But next year ...)

At any rate, Happy Thanksgiving. And, as always, my deepest gratitude to our soldiers and sailors and airmen and marines away from home, and in many cases in harm's way, on this November 26th.

Tom Peters posted this on 11/26/09.

Comments

My mother has never used a dishwasher in all of her 82 years. Dishwashing seems to be her dénouement after a hectic meal. No one else really wants to be washing dishes and it gives her the opportunity to find a little peace after the chaos of preparing dinner.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. I think I will sit Black Friday out this year...

Posted by Randy Spangler at November 26, 2009 9:57 AM

"So how about dedicating Thanksgiving 2009 to purposefully Practicing Courtesies of a Small and Trivial Character?"

Nope!

"So how about dedicating every day to purposefully Practicing Courtesies of a Small and Trivial Character? "

Yup!

Happy Thanksgiving.

Posted by Mark JF at November 26, 2009 11:14 AM

Happy Thanksgiving Tom, Cathy, Erik and Shelley. Thank you for what you do and for providing such an excellent forum for discussion.

Tom - I absolutely love the Mother Teresa and Helen Keller quotes. These women have been heros of mine since middle school. I adore them. Thank you.

The post is lovely. The fasting prior to Thanksgiving is a great tradition. I think I too will start that next year. I laughed aloud that you missed the fast by one meal. :-)

I will soon meet 50+ plus people for dinner, not including those who will just pass through. There are a lot of us, but there are always many guests too. Since I am the youngest of 12, I am told to bring something for the feast. Every year for the past 20 years it has been the same thing: sturdy plastic ware.

In a family where my olders siblings are all excellent cooks, where the men are just as good as the women, maybe in some cases better, I just do what I'm told. This is about the only time of year that this happens. :-) But some day very soon I will show them what an excellent cook I am too.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Posted by Judith Ellis at November 26, 2009 2:08 PM

Great timely post Tom. Even as times get tougher the holiday seasonal spirit seems to blanket the Haloween to New Year stretch. Yes we see some overblown consumerism, junk merchants trying to make a buck, and folks pushing the silly outdoor overdecorating ever earlier. But I think there is a faint resignation or acceptance of some of the planet's plights, from which rises generosity even in the face of adversity - despite it's low sales value in the withering mainstream media. Your loyal reader up the road in Rutland,

Posted by Eric Lapp at November 28, 2009 8:30 AM