I love Thanksgiving. For at least one day of the year, we focus on being grateful for what we have and not what is missing or undesired. Thanksgiving is a time to search our hearts for all the blessings and gifts that grace our lives.
It is a simple holiday. Set in a context of nourishment and nurturance, Thanksgiving unites families, friends, and people who might not otherwise find themselves around the table for a shared meal and the conversation that accompanies it. Everything about the holiday promotes looking for what is good and contributing to a sense of shared appreciation and gratitude.
Here is a holiday in the American culture that has not been co-opted by the commercial and the material. It is about the heart and soul, and feeds both (along with the body). We are more inclined to recognize all of the people for whom a warm meal is a rarity than to breeze past them in a rush of commercial consumerism and purchases. It is a time to pause, to see the world we create, to help those who might not otherwise be able to share a turkey dinner, and to be grateful for all that we have in our lives.
From my heart and table to yours: Happy Thanks giving, Thanks for Happy giving, and let us choose to be Happy Giving Thanks.
You are so right. Maybe because its been the odd year its been, unemployed but happy, I found myself more thankful than in the past. A quick moment to tell those I am so grateful for meant so much when delivered. The responses were so heartfelt and joyous it was almost shocking what happiness a little acknowledgment and thanks can bring…to all parties.
Thanks for you .and Lynn and all you have taught me. My life is infinitely richer for the experiences.