To the Giving of Thanks

What if anything is the significance of these arbitrarily established holidays? Today (Friday) begins the "long weekend" of October - Thanksgiving. One of the many annual events that is treated as license for excess. A brief look at the history of the holiday informs me that there is nothing I align with in terms of its origins except, the theme of appreciation.

My observance of events that elicit a collective response throughout society has over the years drifted to an air of simplicity as I continue to search within myself for a meaningful relationship with life itself (not just these proclaimed "high days and holy days").

I renounce engagement in activities that revolve around elevating a "celebration" into a highly stressful event - where any number of people come together out of obligation and due to the nature of their relating year round the holiday pilgrimages are strained at best and can become rather volatile on many levels. Too much expectation is placed on these few days. Too much expense. Too much consumption. Too much unconsciousness. It is not my aim to cast myself as the scrutineer of holidays past, present and future - I can honour and bless for each their choice of observance.

For me there is a need to restore the sacred into the day, in other words put the "holy" back in the "holi-days." Having said that, I'm not an advocate for a particular religious observance nor am I suggesting this sacred resurgence be restricted to only certain days in the calendar year. If more sacred observance and appreciation were brought to everyday - it would be a different world. I know this as this is how I walk in the world. This is the change I wish to see in the world. This is, who I am.

I may or may not find myself in the company of anyone on this occasion, immediate family have transitioned "to the other side" so there will be no "family gathering." I can appreciate their absence and presence in my life and the ongoing impact upon the shaping of who I am becoming. Where there is sadness I can appreciate a heart that feels so deeply the "slings and arrows" of life along with elation for an experience of life that cannot be contained within a Hallmark greeting or upon the grandest dining room table.

I know I will not hunger, not on any level, for that I have the most profound appreciation. The food, the shopping, the football games, the parades etc. - none of it matters (unless you want to make it matter then, let it be so). It's all there for the taking, unimaginable abundance - therefore the only place scarcity could possible exist is in the form of imagination. I'm not about to debate whether the "fish and loaves" event actually occurred, but just as I wrote the previous I got that the parable most certainly could represent that where there appears to be inadequate resources, look again, deeply and completely, "miraculously" there is more than meets the eye - more than "enough."

For this I give thanks!