Being thankful is so powerful.  And I have so much to be thankful for.  It is impossible to list one thing for which I am most thankful.  I can list many things but that still leaves out a lot.  However, this feeling of thankfulness is too powerful to keep to myself.

            Feeling thankful always lifts my spirits.  This is true even when I do not share my feelings of thankfulness with others.  I am thankful that I understand that being thankful is within my power.  Therefore, I can be thankful any time, any place, any circumstance.  I just have to make up my mind to be thankful.

My mother puts it another way.  She said, “Son, whatever you count, that’s what you will have the most of.  So you might as well count your blessings.”  I did not fully understand at the time but I kept on living and now I truly understand.  I just have to count my blessings to be thankful.

            My mother understood that complaining stops us from being thankful.  Complaining is a sure sign that we are counting our curses rather than our blessings.  She tried mightily to prevent curse counting. 

            My mother would tell me, “Son, don’t complain because it does only two things.  First, it makes your friends avoid you.  No matter how much they love you, they don’t want to hear you complaining all the time.  Second, complaining puts your business in the streets.  By the time it circulates and come back to you, it has changed so much you can’t even recognize it.”

            Now I understand what my mother meant.  There are people I love, but when I see them coming I have a strong urge to escape because I know they will be complaining.  I also know of instances where something said as a complaint came back so differently, and usually worse.  My mama was right.

            We can be thankful without expressing it.  And that is powerful in and of itself.  However, when we express our thankfulness to others, it becomes expressions of appreciation.  Since I am thankful to so many, I want to express my thanks and appreciation by categories.

            I thank my family, both living and dead.  You have given me so much I cannot begin to count the gifts.  You gave to me from the time I was conceived to the present.  You are the fertile soil in which I am planted.  Mom and Dad thank you.  Wife, children, and grandchildren, thank you.  Brothers and Sisters by birth and marriage, thank you.  Granddaddies and Grandmommas, Aunts and Uncles, and Cousins by whatever degree, thank you.  I appreciate you.

            I thank my friends past and the present.  You run the gamut of gender, race, class, and age.  Each of you has given me friendship far more valuable than silver and gold.  My family planted and nourished me.  Your friendship has been gentle showers watering me.  I thank you.  I appreciate you.

            I thank my Community Family.  You comprise every organization I work with.  You come in so many shapes and sizes and forms.  You are the hands that cultivate me, stimulating greater growth and productivity.   I could not do what I do in the way I do but for you.  I could not produce near as well without you.  I thank you. I appreciate you.

            Thank you my fellow strugglers.  I do not share blood ties or personal relationships or organizational connections with you but we do share a common vision, a common goal, a common struggle.  Still, you touch me with your struggle, inspiring me to go on when the way is dark and the probabilities of success seem slim.  You help me to go on when I think I cannot.  I thank you.  I appreciate you

            You who would be adversaries, I thank you.  You force me to extend my gifts, to be my best self.  You motivate me to rise higher and do more.  You give so much to me even as you try to take more from me.  I thank you.

            Most of all, I thank God.  Thank you for without you creator, I would not be and neither would my family, friends, fellow strugglers, family of community organizations, and would be adversaries.  You are the sunlight that makes all growth possible.  I truly thank you.

            I am thankful that I know in the depths of my soul that I am whatever I am because of all of you.  Some are the source and some are the vessels but all work together to make me as I am.  If I occasionally see a little farther or reach slightly higher, or do a little more, it is because I stand on the foundation of you.  I pray that I will always see and reach and do not just for me but for you.  I am just thankful that I am thankful for that is such a gift.

            Now on to the Daily Diary.

            Saturday – I went to work early and handled a number of matters.  I shared a late breakfast with Dr. James Mitchell of Wallace Community College Selma (WCCS) where we covered national, state, and local issues.  I returned to work on several issues.  I traveled to Montgomery for a meeting where I discussed a number of issues before returning to Selma. 

            Sunday – I was up early for my full regime of exercises.  I did Radio Sunday School with Dr. Margaret Hardy, Radio Education with Perry County School Superintendent John Heard, and Sunday Review.  I attended a Prayer Breakfast, taught Sunday School and attended a Men’s Day Program at Calvary Baptist Church.  I also prepared my special dish, Umoja, for the African Extravaganza I attended that evening/night.  I talked with numerous Selma personalities including:  Lorraine and Arthur Capers; Josephine Curtis; and Dr. Margaret Hardy.

            Monday – I participated in two conference calls concerning Black farmers legislation and talked with the following:  Sharon Wheeler of the Senate President Pro Tem Office; Dr. I. B. Hopson of Selma; Cheryl Sabel of the Southern Education Fund; J. Mason Davis of Birmingham; Nat Story of Marion; Bubba Grimsley of Birmingham; and Phillip Brookins of Mississippi.  I went to Lowndes County where I talked with several county commissioners before returning to Selma.

            Tuesday – I prepared Umoja for our office personnel and talked with the following:  former Mayor of Mosses, William Scott; Jerry Pennick of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives (the Federation); Senator Lowell Barron; Dave White of the Birmingham News; Dr. Carol P. Zippert of the Black Belt Community Foundation (BBCF); and Joyce Bigbee of the Legislative Fiscal Office (LFO).  I began writing this Sketches and participated in two conference calls concerning Black farmers.  I participated in several meetings.

            Wednesday – I met many challenges.  I talked with the following:  Majority Senate Leader Zeb Little; Representative John Knight; Senator Roger Bedford; Attorney Joe Espy of Montgomery; Norris Green and Deborah Kennedy of LFO; Sabra Barnett of Birmingham; and Stanley Braggs of Georgia.  I visited with Businesspersons Frank and Joyce Chestnut where we talked about President-elect Obama and related matters.  I traveled to Daphne, AL where I spent the night.

            Thursday and Friday – Three times I traveled to and from Daphne to Bay Minette where the Sanders Clan gathered for our Annual Thanksgiving Reunion.  I visited with persons in the community, drew upon my family roots, and called friends.

            EPILOGUE – Too often we seek to control that which we cannot control.  Yet, we usually do not control that which we can control.  Being thankful is one of those things that we have control over.  We just have to decide and act.