Today is Thanksgiving in the USA. At its best, it marks a day of extra attention to gratitudes. It is a day for extra energy of thankfulness. At its best, it is a day of gathering with family and / or friends. For joy. For celebration. For support. For softness. For sharing gifts, be they of time, or connection, or attention. This year, more of that will be happening on Zoom screens.
At its worst, Thanksgiving is a day of selective attention to selective history. Denying origins from an era rooted in colonization. And blindness to an indigenous way of being. And othering. At its worst, it is a day (and weekend) when commercialism runs amuck with its soothing and seductive ways.
It all goes together. Integrating contrasting views, without neglecting either, is so often the path for growing wisdom. And maturity of orientation.
For me, I’ll lift up a few thanks for this moment.
I am thankful
for family that claims me and welcomes me to claim them.
I am thankful
for colleagues that insist on a journey with grace and imagination.
I am thankful
for a healthy enough body that carries me through this walk of life.
I am thankful
for ground beneath my feet that remains abundant and kind.
I am thankful
for sky above that welcomes breath and longer view.
I am thankful
for roof over my head that gives me dwelling.
I am thankful
for memories of days gone by that compel days to come.
I am thankful
for simple things, like toothpaste to accompany bedtime brushing.
I am thankful
for complex and inherent things, like mystery that beckons tears, longing, and belly laughs.
I am thankful
for a moment to be thankful in this way.
