We set aside this Thanksgiving holiday to commemorate a time when, in the midst of great hardship, we came together as a community to feast with our neighbors and to take time out to just be grateful. We find ourselves again in a time of great hardship, although certainly few of us have experienced the illness, cold, and hunger that were the norm in centuries past. Nevertheless, many of our neighbors are sick or cold or hungry each day. We should not forget them as we sit down to whatever feasting we enjoy.

Even in such difficult times, there is always something to be grateful for. I am blessed with a healthy family, and two wonderful daughters who are both doing pretty well for teenagers. Generally, there is enough food to eat -- good, healthy food in astonishing varieties. What would the pilgrims have thought about bananas or pineapples? And virtually every American has access to clean, fresh water in abundance, delivered right to their house. Half the world does not have easy access to fresh drinking water, yet we merely have to turn a tap, and it pours forth.

The months and years ahead will likely be filled with many opportunities to worry, to work, to protest, to complain. Today, for Thanksgiving, may you find a moment to pause and remember to be grateful for what we have.

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