The Joys of the Season in Bronxville

By Bronxville Mayor Mary Marvin

In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, I was able to participate in what are hands down my two favorite annual events in the Village – the visit to Village Hall by all of the Bronxville School second graders and my participation in the Village Thanksgiving ecumenical service. Seemingly quite incongruous, they dovetail around moments and themes of hope, gratitude and thanksgiving.

The coming together of all of our religious institutions is like no other. My only wish is that more Villagers were aware of it and share in the service. This year it was held at Village Lutheran Church and their Children’s Choir is one not to miss. Their voices are ethereal.

My role, as tradition, is to read the Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamation, a yearly White House message.

Since President Obama’s 2015 statement was not released prior to the event early last week, I chose to read one from President Kennedy. Not only was he a “native son” to Bronxville but his words written below, 54 years ago, were so prescient for our world in 2015.

“This year, as the harvest draws near its close and the year approaches its end, awesome perils again remain to be faced. Yet we have, as in the past, ample reason to be thankful for the abundance of our blessings. We are grateful for the blessings of faith and health and strength and for the imperishable spiritual gifts of love and hope. We give thanks, too, for our freedom as a nation; for the strength of our arms and the faith of our friends; for the beliefs and confidence we share; for our determination to stand firmly for what we believe to be right and to resist mightily what we believe to be base; and for the heritage of liberty bequeathed by our ancestors which we are privileged to preserve for our children and our children’s children. It is right that we should be grateful for the plenty amidst which we live; the productivity of our farms, the output of our factories, the skill of our artisans, and the ingenuity of our investors. But in the midst of our thanksgiving, let us not be unmindful of the plight of those in many parts of the world to whom hunger is no stranger and the plight of those millions more who live without the blessings of liberty and freedom. To all we can offer the sustenance of hope that we shall not fail in our unceasing efforts to make this a peaceful and prosperous world for all mankind.”

The evening’s service continued around the themes of gratitude and thanks and it harkened me back to my visit with the second graders in the days prior. The youngsters were delightfully grateful about life in general – thrilled to sit in the Mayor’s chair, see the jail cells, hammer the gavel and receive a sheet of stickers from the Police Chief. Joy and thanks lit up Village Hall, making it a time like no other. I quite honestly envied their unjaded attitude and vowed to be more like a second grader in my life’s outlook.

The children’s visit caused me to re-read my favorite OP-Ed column from the New York Times, “The Structure of Gratitude” by David Brooks, which I keep folded in my wallet as a personal reminder.

To quote some of salient passages,

“Gratitude happens when some kindness exceeds expectation, when it is undeserved. Gratitude is a sort of laughter of the heart that comes about after some surprising kindness.

Most people feel grateful some of the time – after someone saves you from a mistake or brings you food during an illness. But some people seem grateful dispositionally. They seem thankful practically all of the time.

These people may have big ambitions, but they have preserved small anticipations. As most people get on in life and earn more status, they often get used to more respect and nicer treatment. But people with dispositional gratitude take nothing for granted. They take a beginner’s thrill at a word of praise, at another’s good performance or at each sunny day. These people are present-minded and hyper-responsive.

G.K. Chesterton wrote that “thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”

People with grateful dispositions see their efforts grandly but not themselves. Life doesn’t surpass their dreams but it nicely surpasses their expectations.”

Rest assured all of our second graders have dispositional gratitude along with inquisitive minds and candor, politeness in manner and kindness toward their peers. May they always be this way.

If they are any indication, the future is in good hands for years to come in our Village. May we all emulate their refreshing view of the world with one caveat – just don’t ask the Mayor how old she is!!