Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light.   -Albert Schweitzer    Personal Reflections on Giving Thanks    Perhaps the reason why happiness evades today’s western world is because a proper understanding of thankfulness has been lost from many individuals. It is impossible to be happy without being thankful for all the little things that make a life good and being appreciative of the people who have a positive impact on us. In America, being thankful for others, at least those in our immediate family, is increasing rare. A recent Gallop poll shows that only 6 out of 10 Americans consider their family among the top three things they are most thankful for. Merely 20 percent of American parents said they are especially thankful for their children. Among those who are married, only 12 percent are thankful for their spouse. Sadly this reflects a predictable consequence from the past half-century of re-education emphasizing diversity, feminism, and multiculturalism which stressed “me” over “we.” The cornerstone of post-modern thought has been criticism of family, marriage, religion, and other traditional values which emphasized strong individuals striving to serve others, and which have given us many reasons to be thankful for countless generations. In the wake of this destruction, it is no wonder that both individuals, and the society comprised of these individuals, are becoming less satisfied and less thankful for the blessings we have been given. We’ve become increasingly more reliant upon things to make us happy, from technological gadgets to designer clothes to pharmaceuticals, and these objects now form a stronger friendship to many than does spending time with a loved one. The media-entertainment industry has formed an institution which has replaced family and friends to become our new spiritual guide, a church singing the psalms of the here-and-now, with verses of adoration for socialism and hedonism, and refrains inspiring narcissism and superficiality. Increasingly lost are those simplest of pleasures that should not cost a thing yet which would be far more fulfilling. In my own personal reflections on giving thanks, my family makes the top of my list. I am especially thankful for my brother Jon, who was the best brother while he was living and who, I am confident, is the best guardian angel anyone can have. His light shone brightly in this world, and although I will forever be devastated at his loss I am thankful for the twenty-four years of friendship and adventure that we did have. Number two is my gratefulness for being an American, for no other country on earth provides its citizens with such personal freedom and economic opportunity. We have been given this liberty because of our soldiers, the third on my most thankful for list. They are an example of how to be brave and how to be selfless, and constantly rekindle the hope of America so our light as a nation remains ever shining. The physician and philosopher Albert Schweitzer wrote, “Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light.” Nothing should stop you from searching for those who will bring you light, and in turn bring your spark to those who seem to lack it. Whatever family members you have been born into or are given, try to bring your light to them even if they do not bring a light to you. Whatever spouse you choose should be the person whose flame you most want to enkindle during the dark times of life and the one you would trust to brighten you during the same. The person we should want to become is one who has the most positive impact on the lives of others, for the more we let our own light shine the more we enable others to do the same, thus increasing the good that is in the world and the reasons why we should be thankful.