Recently, I read of a young Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia whose recent film “All We Imagine as Light” won the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in May. As she spoke of the film—a portrait of life in Mumbai—she made this statement: “Real life is more interesting than cinema can be . . . . if your real life
is poor, it means you are not poet enough to draw from its riches.”
I borrow this phrase to encourage us to practice being poets by looking at the many ways in which we give our lives and careers to the community college are blessed. Not everyone is blessed with a mission as rich and noble as ours.
The word “Thanksgiving” actually envelops two connected elements: “Thanks” on one side; “giving” on the other. It connotes a season of affirmation, of respite, of a time to celebrate both our differences and our common bonds rather than debating or fighting over them.
My Thanksgiving message is a simple one. I encourage each of us to enjoy the Thanksgiving break as a “time out” of sorts, far removed from offices and classrooms. Eat lots of turkey or tofu (whatever your choice); go for a hike; watch enough football to prove you really do know how to be lazy; or just veg out on the couch to watch old movies in your pajamas with a quarter sized bowl of buttered popcorn in your lap.
Whatever your family’s Thanksgiving Day traditions might be, I hope your day is joyful and fulfilling, and that each of you is well fed and well sustained by the love and fellowship of friends and family. For a few days, just enjoy being alive, alert, and enthusiastic!