‘Turn off the news’ and be grateful

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This article was published 10/10/2025 (249 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There is always something to be thankful for, says the minister of Brandon’s Trinity United Church.

While the congregation’s spiritual leader, Rev. Doug Neufeld, was polishing his Sunday sermon ahead of Thanksgiving Day, he said people should spend time reflecting on what they have, not what they want.

“As challenging as times are on the planet right now, with the various politics and so many people living with food insecurity, I think as Canadians, we really are in the land of plenty,” Neufeld said.

“And maybe we have so much to be thankful for that we take it for granted.”

Neufeld pointed out how he has noticed through his volunteer time with Brandon Bear Clan that people who have very little are grateful when they receive a gift.

“People who don’t have a warm place to sleep, warm clothes or clean socks, and truly have food insecurity — that means they literally do not know where their next meal is coming from,” Neufeld said.

“They are so grateful when someone hands them a pretty modest sandwich. Those are examples of people being grateful and thankful, living in the margins of our community.”

For people who are struggling to find something to be thankful for, Rev. Craig Miller of Knox United Church said he encourages people to look for a moment of connection, which can include small talk with a stranger at the grocery store.

“When we’re connected, we’re happier. We find more meaning and purpose in life just by shifting our perspective,” Miller said.

“Look for a moment of delight, like the way the sun is coming through your window in your living space, or the fragrance from the cup of tea you just made — just find the little things,” Miller said.

Watching TikTok videos all day or scrolling social media seeing people scream at each other not only locks us into an algorithm, but is a thief of joy, said Miller.

“We get a lot of messages these days that tell us we’re not enough unless we have the newest truck or car or whatever it is that they’re trying to sell. That could even be a beauty regime,” he said.

“So, I often say get away from your technology, get your hands in the garden and your feet on a path. Walk your neighbourhood, get to the Brandon Hills or down to the Riverbank Discovery Centre.”

That’s exactly what sisters Betty-Jean and Catherine Checkley were doing Friday afternoon as they walked the pathways along Brandon’s Assiniboine River.

Catherine lives in Victoria, B.C., and hasn’t seen her Manitoba nephews or their children in almost 10 years.

“I’m grateful for my sister,” Catherine said as she hugged Betty-Jean.

“But it’s different these days. Unfortunately what’s happening down south (in the United States) is affecting us. We all have to work on our mental health, but it’s beautiful here, and that helps,” she said as she looked around.

“When you get to be my age,” said Betty-Jean, “it’s good to be grateful. I want to live with an attitude of gratitude every day. We are so blessed in this country. We can walk here peacefully.”

Four friends, who had just come back from a duck hunting trip north of Rivers, were unloading their flat-bottom boat in the parking lot of the Discovery Centre.

Shane Gabor said he was grateful for Manitoba’s abundant outdoors.

“Most people will say they are grateful for family and friends and our wildlife. And really, what else is there? Those are the most important things,” Gabor said.

“I think we have so much to be thankful for. We just have to remind ourselves of that given all of the negative news that we are inundated with every day. So if you can do that, you’d be a lot happier. Maybe watching a little less news might not hurt,” he said.

As Barb Steele stood next to her husband, Owen, she said, “Agreed. Turn off the news.”

The couple makes the two-day drive from Ontario each year to hunt with their friends, which they said in unison they are thankful for.

“COVID was difficult enough, and then it seemed to transition into more and more turmoil all the time. So we’re thankful for opportunities to come here to get away,” Owen said.

“It’s a real positive spin on your mental well being to be able to go out — in this case, duck hunting and camaraderie with friends.”

When Rev. Miller was asked if there is always something to be thankful for, he said, “Yes, always.”

Miller cited reading accounts of Holocaust survivors and residential school survivors who were experiencing the “deepest, most awful places of life,” and found things to be grateful for.

“One of the residential school survivors I talked with a few years ago made a connection with another student from another community when she was forced from her siblings,” Miller said.

“That doesn’t take away from the brutality of residential schools, but in the midst of that, she found a relationship,” he said.

“So, in the different circumstances of our lives, we can always find things for which we are grateful. Life is a gift.”

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