for you to hear

I was thinking about thankfulness this weekend. On my drive home from Elgin, actually. And I began to review some of the moments and times of my life when I have been truly "thankful" or when I have perceived of myself that I was thankful and I came across a most startling question. Can one be truly thankful without doubt? And I thought about it. Of all of the times that I have expressed thanks it is most often associated with a feeling of relief or unexpectedly. Kind of like, "whew! Thank goodness this happened! I was about to get worried." or "wow! Thanks! What a pleasant surprise."

Now, had I been expecting the good to happen, would I have been thankful? Not likely. Instead I would have taken it for granted, because that was what was supposed to happen, right? If I had not doubted, I would not have been thankful. It is only because I doubt that good things will happen that I am thankful when good things do happen. People who always expect the best results, are they surprised when the get the best results? Not if they truly expected the best.

Oddly, this seems to support that random but intriguing quote that I found way back when. . . "I enjoy being pessimistic, because I am either always right or I am pleasantly surprised." Does optimism produce thankfulness? I will have to continue giving this some thought.

posted by Trisha @ 1:09 PM