There’s a camp song that J used to sing when she was camp director:

This joy that I have, the world didn’t give it to me.
This joy that I have, the world didn’t give it to me.
This joy that I have, the world didn’t give to me.
The world didn’t give it – the world can’t take it away!

I think it’s supposed to be a spiritual, but I think it works even if you’re not religious.

Several years ago, I found myself standing in line at the post office during the holiday season. All sorts of problems were cropping up, and the wait was stretching on and on. The postal workers were doing the best they could, but they were way over their heads and the line was growing ugly. You know the drill: loud sighs, sarcastic comments, people tapping their watches.

All the social unpleasantness you can encounter concentrated in to one overly warm room.

That sort of thing used to make me fairly uncomfortable. I don’t generally take part in the comments and sighing, and I used to feel like people were upset with me for that. Fortunately, I’m thicker skinned now.

In any case, the guy in front of me was as pleasant as could be. We chatted about trivial things and passed the time in line fairly easily. He was an older gentleman who was mailing a package out to his grandchildren. When his turn came, he stepped up to the counter. The postal worker immediately started apologizing for the wait, but they moved past that fairly quickly and took care of business.

As he was walking away, the postal worker called out "Have a good day!"

The older man turned back, smiled gently, and said "Son, I’ve never had a bad day in my life. And this" – he gestured vaguely at the crowd of unhappy people – "certainly is not enough to make me start now." Then he caught my eye and gave me a wink.

Wow.

I’m thankful for so many things in my life: family, friends, health, happiness – you name it. For me, however, the most unexpected thing is how thankful I am for the passing wisdom of complete strangers. It really has changed my life.

This joy that I have, the world didn’t give it to me.
This joy that I have, the world didn’t give it to me.
This joy that I have, the world didn’t give to me.
The world didn’t give it to – the world can’t take it away!

Happy Thanksgiving!