While my inbox was flooded with email after email of sale announcements, Black Friday bargains, coupons and all sorts of other consumption-driven spam, I was pleasantly surprised to receive this email from Fair Indigo:
"As we express gratitude, we must never forget the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." -John F Kennedy
No sale announcement here. No door buster or dancing reindeer.
But today, a sincere thank you for supporting Fair Indigo over the past four years. Years economically unprecedented in most of our lifetimes. In the late 2008 financial crisis, as a fledgling startup, we were told by very smart people, "it will be a miracle if you survive this." Apparently, miracles don't happen only on 34th Street. For this, thank you.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we'd like to suggest there are more meaningful things to do on Black Friday than lining up at 4am for the latest gadget or firing up the credit card online. While most of us who can afford to make website purchases can be grateful for that ability in itself, for many, the simple act of preparing dinner is a financial challenge. Day in, day out.
May we suggest donating to a local food bank on Black Friday? Share this act of generosity with children. As the song says, "teach your children well."
Other ideas. Call an estranged relative or friend and thank them for a past kindness. Thank the clerks you come across for working on a holiday, most likely without overtime pay. In the very least, meditate on the bounty in your life, however modest or grand.
Happy Thanksgiving from your friends at Fair Indigo.
Now THAT was classy.
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