At this time on the wheel of the year we honor, recognize and exhibit gratitude for the concept of abundance. We point to it. We sing about it. We thank God for it. We congratulate ourselves for our ingenuity and work ethic. We are glad. We smile. We are relieved. We feel satisfaction. We feel safe, because we now know the harvest is good enough to survive the coming winter. Blessed be.
We actually need this time of recognition. And we are missing something when we forget to do more than merely eat turkey. As humans made from the molecules of this planet we are not separate from it in any way. The atoms of our bodies come from nowhere else. Even if it was the stars before that. What happens to the planet, happens to us. We contract with the soil in the winter and expand with it in the summer.
What sets us apart is our rituals and celebrations. They have purpose. Some are about what we give to the earth. Some are for what we receive from it. They are a response to how the cycles of the earth make us feel. Because there is no line where the earth ends and we begin. The earth doesn't fear these cycles. It doesn't need to be comforted. But humans are a bunch of hot messes and we need each other to get through it. We need occasions and rituals of gathering like Thanksgiving, and Samhain, and apple fairs, and Octoberfests. We need to be reminded of the goodness of the earth every year at this time and spread it out in front of us for a moment. Take stock. Count blessings. Give thanks.
We forget so quickly. Despair is patient. It waits for us to forget. We need Thanksgiving to help us remember goodness and be grateful for it. Along with the December and New Year holidays, and then the February candlelightings, we leapfrog through the winter, one festival at a time, consoling and warming ourselves until spring. Take this first touchstone and be glad for it.
As the ground becomes still and rigid we have a tendency to do the same. As the light disappears we feel the same pull to hide and be quiet. To slip into the primordial fears we earned in the early days of our species. To balance the deep pull of those instincts, we need to sit in the sphere of abundance and gratitude for a while and luxuriate in it. To overeat a bit, to walk the razor’s line between satisfaction and gluttony. And lose.
Remember gratitude. Be grateful for every mouthful of food you eat. Think about where it came from and how good it is for you. Don’t spoil the love it was made with by resenting it before you even put it into your body. Don’t worry about getting fat. That’s not for now. But you can still celebrate abundance even if you’re being moderate about it. Relish life.
You have the ability to bless. Do you know that? And it’s a real thing. Bless everything that enters your body. Every vitamin. Every pill. Every meatball. Every sip of water. Bless it. Say thank you for the goodness of this water. Take a sip.
In your mind, highlight the components in the water that will nourish you, and ignore the rest. That’s not to say be ignorant of them. But don’t let them control your experience. Or your benefit. Or your gratitude.
Does my attitude matter? The water is going into my body one way or the other. Does my attitude affect the way my body welcomes it? The state of the things we consume matters. There are studies which illustrate we have an energetic effect on our environments based on how we feel and what we say. What are you saying to your food as you eat it? Are you giving thanks for its existence? For its ability to strengthen you? For its deliciousness? For the love it was created with?
That is the teaching.
That is what we are asked to do.
We are invited to revel in the emotional state of gratitude. We are encouraged to be glad. We are asked to not only be thankful, but to thank. It completes the circuit.
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