The Giving of Thanks

( – promoted by buhdydharma )

I hate the Holiday the United States has made our natural harvest celebration into. But I have always though the giving of thanks is one of the things we humans have neglected far too much.

Give thanks to whom, you ask? Sky Daddy, Karma, the Cosmos?

Maybe. Being alive is pretty amazing.

But I’m more into appreciating each other, thanking the people in my world. It just makes the World a better place. You all know how good it feels to be truly appreciated, why do we not want to give that pleasure to others in our lives every day? Complaints are easy, compliments seem harder to us. I guess having death as my closest lifelong companion, losing so many loved ones, makes me feel strident about telling people how much they mean to me before its too late. We speak of a loving society, and I for one, can’t preach that and still be stingy with it personally.

Then, no matter how hard my life is, sometimes I have to stop and think about the fact I have not just one morsel, but more than enough food every day. Most often, another being gave way so that I might sustain. I have clean water. I can see colors, I can hear music, laughter.

I have food also, for my mind and my soul, right here for the taking. I have all of you to thank for that.

Genocidal celebrations suck. But the giving of thanks assuredly does not. Even as we ponder the injustices of it all, every tiny thing done for you should be a reminder of what it is we are fighting for.

We are fighting for more of that for which we can be grateful, for everyone.

Thank you all, I am grateful for you.

Proof our unease with thanks?

See how uncomfortable we get when given thanks or praise. We blush, we squirm, we try and deflect it.

Were it given more often, accepted more often, we would all be happy to smile and say, “You’re welcome!”

And mean the welcomed part. Welcome to any part of my soul that helps yours.