My email and various online forums these past few days have been awash with Thanksgiving messages. Some have been good wishes, others have been commercial messages.

Thanksgiving is a very American event and clearly of huge significance for Americans. So this year I have sent greetings to various American relatives, friends and colleagues, including American expats here in Australia and New Zealand. But as an expat living in Sydney mentioned on one of the discussion forums this week, here it’s just another Thursday.

Well, for me not quite. All the emphasis on thanksgiving has encouraged me to give some time and thought to what I am thankful for. I’ve just shared a special experience this morning with people on one of the Ryze networks I belong to and am recording here.

I’m especially grateful today because this morning, after walking along the beach and being a bit preoccupied with “cares of business”, I went for a swim and a bit of body surfing. As I was waiting for a wave I saw – a fin! But it was a friendly fin and it was such a blast to then turn and catch the same wave the dolphin had decided to catch. As the wave picked me up I looked to the right and saw the dolphin clearly in the water about ten feet away. Do you think I came out of the water still worried about business? Am I smiling? There are blessings all around us.