Thanksgiving offers us an opportunity to meet each other in gratefulness beyond all our differences. Because we have experienced so many losses, so many challenges in the last year and a half, it is helpful and nourishing to bring our grateful attention to what we hold precious, what we have learned, what we share, and what we enjoy, in spite of those losses.
Gratefulness, a quality that is so essential to my health and sense of connection, is not just a feeling. Feelings come and go. It is, rather, a practice — something that requires my effort and attention to remember, cultivate and refine.
Gratefulness is the foundation of my practice because it wakes me up and gives me the strength and clarity to face my challenges. Gratefulness is the foundation of my practice, because it gives me access to the gifts I’ll need to meet those challenges. Gratefulness reduces the habit of looking for what’s wrong or “not enough,” quieting the voices of complaint, while amplifying our awareness of the shining, simple gifts of life that can be received and enjoyed right now.
The flow of Gratefulness begins with a sense of surprise. You might be stopped in your tracks by a rainbow or a sunrise or the most ordinary sight of a child playing or your partner deep in thought. Unexpectedly, the beauty, poignancy, sweetness and depth of a moment touches you and you are suddenly ALIVE; the world around you takes on a shimmer and a mystery.
Gratefulness, beginning in surprise, gradually expands into a sense of wonder. When you are in a state of wonder, you remember what a miracle this life is, and how interconnected we all are. You are able to actually delight in the absurdities of life; you let yourself be astounded by the enormity of Creation; your mind is blown by synchronicities, coincidences and a glimpse of the infinite. Then your heart opens. From a state of wonder it’s impossible to judge another or commit a crime against this amazing Creation.
Gratefulness, beginning in surprise, expanding into wonder, gradually grows into generosity as we look for ways to respond to this gift of life that we are given. Our eyes are opened to the suffering around us and we realize that “we” are not separate from “them”; we are all a part of this gorgeous tapestry… and as even one thread unravels, the whole pattern is diminished. We stop judging one another and start serving each other. We look for ways to give, in response to how much we have received. Over time, gratefulness plants in us a growing reverence for all life.
At Thanksgiving time, with all the food and family festivities, sometimes the reflections and expressions of gratefulness get lost. What if this Thanksgiving could be a time of remembering together, reminding ourselves and each other about what really matters?
As we sit down to share a Thanksgiving feast, we can also share our surprise, wonder, generosity or reverence; we can bring our gratefulness front and center. Saying thank you, brings us together because it doesn’t matter if you’re totally secular, devoutly religious, Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist or Wiccan. We can come together once a year to share and acknowledge the gifts of life: family, beauty, humor, friendship, nourishment, pleasure and the delicious meal we share.
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