I am
not shy about loving Thanksgiving! (See
here and here.) There is something powerful
in having a day reinforce the power and importance of gratitude, which is a
core value of Judaism.
Many of
us are familiar with Fred Rogers. I
admit I loved watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and even had one of
those sweater. The man is a real
tzaddik, someone who positively impacted so many through his being our
neighbor.
In
1997, Fred Rogers received a Lifetime Achievement Emmy. In his acceptance speech –
which lasted just over a minute and a half, he provided a powerful model of
gratitude and how easy and impactful it can be to spend just 10 seconds being
thankful.
Thank you. Thank you. Oh
it’s a beautiful night in this neighborhood. So many people have helped me to
come to this night. Some of you are here, some are far away, some are even in
Heaven.
All of us have special
ones who have loved us into being. Would you just take, along with me, ten
seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are. Those who
have cared about you and wanted what was best for you in life. Ten seconds of
silence. I’ll watch the time.
[10 Sec Pause]
Whomever you’ve been thinking
about, how pleased they must be to know the difference you feel they’ve made.
You know they’re the kind of people television does well to offer our world.
Special thanks to my family and friends, and to my co-workers in Public
Broadcasting, Family Communications, and this Academy for encouraging me,
allowing me, all these years to be your neighbor. May God be with you. Thank
you very much.
Since I
encountered this story and video, I have been telling everyone I know about
it. We even tried it at our family
Thanksgiving table. You know what? Ten seconds can feel like a long time. It has the power to bring out some very
powerful memories and emotions. We need more of that.
Try it yourself.
