Living Thanksgiving
I want to talk about giving thanks. Not as an event or a specific moment in time. But as a constant outflow in our lives.
I can already hear the cynics and naysayers shaming my idealism.
We live in a time when old hatreds have come back to life and old divisions have widened. We are told that this is our only reality and we must pick sides and prepare for battle. There is an ever-growing chorus among younger generations who believe that love has failed, peace is for the weak, and giving thanks is only for those who live in privilege.
I reject those notions.
No matter how dark or cynical our world has become, how jaded the news is that we consume, or how many times we are fed the narrative that our only reality can only be anger, hatred, and division, we can embody another way.
There is an ever-present reality into which we can enter where thanksgiving becomes the very essence of our being, and the perpetual outflow of our spirit.
Thanksgiving is so much more than an event, so much more than a sporadic, momentary act, so much more than an expression of gratitude only when something goes in our favor or when the conditions are right. Thanksgiving is an ever-flowing expression of gratitude in everything, in every moment of the day, with every breath that is taken, and never dependent upon our changing situation or circumstance.
Thanksgiving is our perpetual expression of gratitude for all people, all relationships, and all things.
Thanksgiving is our perpetual expression of gratitude regardless of our life situation or our changing condition.
Thanksgiving is saying, “This life is good. And I want to invite everyone to a seat at this table.”
Thanksgiving responds in the midst of chaos, “Thank you God for your grace, mercy, love, and beauty. Let me be an extension of you everywhere I am and with every breath I take.”
Question
How can you make thanksgiving a way of living, rather than a holiday or event?
Peace,
Brandon