Just Cook It: GF3 – the new Thanksgiving new abbreviation
Manifesto – a written statement that describes the policies, goals, and opinions of a person or group.
Above is the definition of the word “manifesto” from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. I am an avid reader and for whatever reason I have been coming across/reading quite a few manifestos on different topics lately. Some of these topics are interesting, some are thought provoking, and some I leave for other people to read and enjoy.
With all of the diverse manifestos that have been written, I have yet to find a really good one aimed at my personal favorite holiday. With it now officially being November and less than three weeks away (20 days) from Thanksgiving, I thought that this would be a good opportunity to present you with my Thanksgiving Manifesto.
Thanksgiving is a fantastic holiday and one that in my opinion doesn’t get it’s just due. For instance – Christmas movies have been running consistently (possibly on loop) on a certain cable television for weeks already. I am not in any way, shape or form opposed to enjoying/celebrating Christmas. I do, however, take offense at the fact that we seem to move right from Halloween straight into the Christmas season when Thanksgiving so obviously falls in between the two.
In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated the second week in October so it would make logical sense to move from Halloween to Christmas festivities. The only real issue is that we don’t live in Canada!
I can understand retail establishments displaying Christmas decorations and gift ideas because retailing items is how they make a living. What I don’t understand is singing Christmas carols in early November. What about all of the fantastic Thanksgiving songs we could be singing along with on the way to carve the bird?
What’s that you say? You’ve never heard a Thanksgiving song? Maybe if they’d play some songs like “Thanksgiving Prayer” by Johnny Cash or “The Thanksgiving Song” by Adam Sandler (it is actually a festive song and I do “love to eat turkey like a good boy should”) you would feel differently.
I’ve gotten a bit off track though. I’m not writing this Thanksgiving Manifesto to complain or talk about things that I don’t agree with. I’m writing this to elevate the holiday of Thanksgiving and hopefully position it a bit further toward the front of your mind when it comes to celebrating this holiday season.
When it comes to Thanksgiving I have a special term that I created for the holiday that I am proud to share with you. That term is GF3. If you remember and put into practice GF3 this Thanksgiving you will be sure to have a fantastic holiday!
GF3 represents the most important aspects of the Thanksgiving holiday. I would like to also add that this is the first time I have publicly mentioned my Thanksgiving principle of GF3 so you can feel honored to be one of the first, other than myself, to be able to utilize it.
GF3 stands for Gratitude, Family, Food, and Football. Those four things cover all of the essentials in the proper sequence for celebrating Thanksgiving. GF3 is the basis for celebrating Thanksgiving and I urge you to incorporate the principle into your holiday this year.
Gratitude is of course the major theme of the holiday. Being grateful all year, not just on Thanksgiving, is something I highly recommend. However, we all have to start somewhere and Thanksgiving is the perfect time to start actually being grateful for all of the good things in life.
I’ve had the opportunity to meet and interact with enough people to know that no matter how bad you think things are for you, there’s always someone somewhere who has it worse. If you’re having trouble finding something to be thankful for, just remember and be thankful for that.
Family is another very important aspect of Thanksgiving, and something that we can use to put the “G” from GF3 into practice as well. Family doesn’t have to mean blood. Maybe you have great friends that you consider to be family, or a pet that is family to you.
Family to me is anyone or anything from whom you freely give and receive love. We all have love and connection of some form in our lives and Thanksgiving is a time to show gratitude for and contribute to those that we love and care about.
The second “F” in GF3 is one that is personally near and dear to my heart – food. Most people celebrate Thanksgiving with the traditional fare of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and more! I love Thanksgiving dinner and we will be discussing it in greater detail in future columns this month.
Food is what Thanksgiving is most known for, and while I have devoted a considerable amount of my life to food, it is still only the third most important aspect of Thanksgiving for me. Without gratitude and family there is really no reason to celebrate with this large and delicious meal every November.
While we wholeheartedly love the food, we need to keep things in perspective. Believe me, when you take the time to fill your heart with gratitude and focus on the ones you love and care about; it makes the food taste a lot better! That’s my secret ingredient to Thanksgiving.
Finally, you can’t celebrate Thanksgiving without football. Well, technically I guess you can but I don’t know who would really want to. Football is the essential missing piece that completes that Thanksgiving puzzle and makes it arguably one of the best holidays of them all.
Remember and put into practice GF3 this Thanksgiving and you will understand what all the fuss is about. I hope my Thanksgiving Manifesto opened your eyes to the magical holiday that lies ahead. If you are half as excited as I am for November 27th then I’m sure you will have your greatest Thanksgiving yet!
Mario Porreca of Belle Vernon is an entrepreneur, author, lifestyle strategist, and the host of Just Cook It Radio. He can be reached via his website at: www.MarioPorreca.com. Twitter: @MarioPorreca