Coexistence… what the farmer does with the turkey – until Thanksgiving.
Mike Connolly
On this side of the Atlantic, where I happen to be (specifically, Australia), this Thursday and Friday are like most other Thursdays and Fridays – working days.
But over in America and Canada, these two days are holidays, with Thursday being Thanksgiving and Friday being the day after Thanksgiving, a day which is known in the retail industry as ‘Black Friday’.
And, no, it’s a very good kind of black because store accounts will hopefully go from ‘red’ to ‘black’ with all the shopping that people are expected to do on and after the Friday following Thanksgiving! Or so the urban myths say. It’s officially the start of Christmas shopping.
Clearly, there’s a lot happening during these days and during the lead up to them and following them as Americans and Canadians slide (or struggle uphill) from Thanksgiving to Christmas and the rest of us wind up (or down) for Christmas.
I love the idea of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, can be marred for some at least, by national history, when battles between the early settlers and the indigenous people were waged, or personal history, where conflicts persist in the hearts of everyday folk with unhappy childhoods, estranged families or financial struggles. For these people, Thanksgiving can be an occasion when their inner happiness feels most threatened.
Yet, for all of us, regardless of our current situation or history, thanksgiving -giving thanks and feeling gratitude – is exactly what can help restore our inner happiness.
Now, for me personally, gratitude is quite simply the recognition of goodness. Gratitude, for me, does not even remotely hint of indebtedness or humility or feeling small in the presence of greatness.
For me, gratitude is recognizing the greatness and goodness in everything, including myself. And that is not only a marvelous, enriching feeling, it’s a powerful one. You see, you cannot be grateful without recognizing goodness and greatness.
If, on the other hand, gratitude simply means feeling good because of what someone or something has done for us, then I think we remain trapped in the craving and attaching habits of the ego-mind, a mind preoccupied with its unnatural and untenable survival. Such a mind demands that other people and other things behave in certain ways in order for us to be happy.
On the other hand, recognizing the greatness and goodness in all things and enjoying freely and fully this recognition of greatness and goodness – that’s when I feel most grateful. That’s when my sense of gratitude is not limited to what has been done for or to me, personally, but simply and inclusively, for what is.
To all my American and Canadian readers, may Thanksgiving be truly a day of gratitude for you. And to all of us everywhere, may we enjoy the inner happiness of recognizing the greatness and goodness of all of life!
Love always
Lucy
Awakening to Happiness, Prosperity and Freedom!
