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Giving Thanks

24 Sunday Nov 2013

Posted by in United States

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Happy Thanksgiving

 

On Thursday, 28 November 2013, Americans come together as a nation to celebrate Thanksgiving Day: A time to give thanks for God’s benefits on our nation and in our lives. Giving thanks may be far from our thoughts as we continue to live in uncertain and difficult times. Several people I know are facing adversity.

I give thanks for dark days; only then am I able to appreciate all that is good.
I give thanks for helplessness; it forces me to find my strength.
I give thanks for defeat; I learn not to underestimate my opponent.
I give thanks when I am in need; I learn to receive from others with an open heart.
I give thanks for the times I fail; success becomes mine to savor.
I give thanks for my fears; only then can I be truly courageous.
I give thanks when despair clouds my vision of tomorrow; hope is born.
I give thanks for my loss; I learn to appreciate the people in my life.
I give thanks when I’m brought to my knees; therein lies the path to humility and  compassion.
I give thanks for rejection and abandonment; I am filled with universal love.

Life abounds with duality. We cannot exist without the influence of the negative and positive forces of Nature. We have to accept the good with the bad. With birth comes death.

The consequences of the insatiable greed of the powerful, minority elite teach us the value of sharing wealth among all citizens. The destruction of our planet in our frenzy for more and more stuff teaches us what is truly important in our lives. Empires have risen and fallen. In refusing to learn from the lessons of the past, we rush headlong toward the abyss.

I give thanks for those individuals among us who risk their freedom and security to stand up to those in power in defense of humanity and the planet we all call home.

A generation goes, a generation comes, yet the earth stands firm for ever. The sun rises, the sun sets; then to its place it speeds and there it rises… What was will be again; what has been done will be done again; and there is nothing new under the sun. Take anything of which it may be said, ‘Look now, this is new’. Already, long before our time, it existed. Only no memory remains of earlier times, just as in times to come next year itself will not be remembered.
Ecclesiastes 1: 4 & 9-11

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Giving Thanks

18 Sunday Nov 2012

Posted by in Brazil, Family Life, Guyana, Human Behavior, Relationships, Religion, United States

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The Goodness of Giving Thanks from Psalm 31: A Prayer in Time of Ordeal

Source: theconversationhub.com

 

In my native land, Guyana, I was brainwashed as a child to say “thank you” whenever someone did something for me or gave me something. If I forgot those magic words, my mother would remind me:

“What do you say?”

“Thanks, Auntie,” I would whisper.

Giving thanks was reinforced in primary school run by the Roman Catholic nuns: “Never forget to thank God for everything He has given you.” At Sunday Mass, the Catholic priests hammered it in. We not only had to praise God for His wondrous creation, we also had to express our gratitude.

I was unaware of how much saying “thank you” had become a habitual unconscious response until I moved to Brazil and a friend drew it to my attention. While Brazilians may not have the habit of saying “thank you,” their faith in God’s goodness runs deep. Graças a Deus – thanks be to God – escape their lips whenever they receive good news, a favorable outcome, or an answer to prayer.

In the United States, the practice of giving thanks – a tradition of the first English settlers to this land – was raised to the national level by President George Washington in 1789. A special day in the year is set aside for giving thanks to God. This year, we will celebrate Thanksgiving Day on Thursday, November 22nd.

I consider Thanksgiving Day the most celebrated American holiday. Americans put aside their individual pursuits and come together – often traveling great distances – as families, friends, and as a community to give thanks for liberties fought for and won as a nation, for their achievements, for their victories over adversity.

This Thanksgiving, I remember the millions of Americans on the East Coast who face the devastation of Superstorm Sandy. In the face of adversity, we either find our strength and hold on to what really matters in this life or we are crushed with despair.

In dealing with my own adversities, I have learned that in giving thanks for the gifts, blessings or miracles – depending on your viewpoint – makes each day more meaningful and fulfilling. Make a list of all that you are able to enjoy today and you will appreciate what I am saying. Leave nothing out. We take a lot for granted until it is taken from us.

Give thanks each and every day. Live a life of thankfulness.

 

Giving Thanks during Difficult Times

20 Sunday Nov 2011

Posted by in United States

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On Thursday, November 24, Americans will celebrate Thanksgiving Day. For many offices and businesses, it will be a four-day weekend holiday break. Celebrated yearly on the fourth Thursday of November, Thanksgiving Day is a special time of the year for families and friends to get together for a special meal and give thanks for the blessings in their lives.

After celebrating seven Thanksgiving meals since moving to California, I have observed that turkey with stuffing and gravy, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie are a must on this special day. I am not a great lover of turkey, but I am developing an appreciation for pumpkin pie. I remember, with thanks, last Thanksgiving when I shared the best pumpkin pie, so far, at the home of a writer friend.

When the United States was an agricultural-based society, Thanksgiving was a time for celebrating the end of the harvest season and of giving thanks for a good harvest. In our industrialized and technological world, we can measure our harvest by the returns from our businesses, factories, professional pursuits, and jobs.

During these times of job shortages and dwindling consumers for our products and professional services, the harvest is poor or lost for millions of families across the United States and many other countries across our planet. Without assistance, the homeless, jobless, and hungry among us will have no cause for celebration or for giving thanks this Thanksgiving.

I give thanks, this Thanksgiving, for the benefactors and charitable volunteer workers who provide assistance to our families in crisis.

I give thanks for the protestors of the OCCUPY Movement across our nation who are facing the cold, pepper spray, tear gar, police beatings, and arrest to clamor for an end to the growing inequality among us: the Top One Percent get richer while the remaining 99 Percent get poorer.

I give thanks for the people currently in my life, especially my two sons who make it possible for me to be a writer; for the people in journeys past who reached out a hand or changed the course of my life; and for the beauty and gifts of our planet.

If, this thanksgiving, your life is more like that of a person groping in the darkness along the edge of a precipice, know that help comes in unexpected ways from strangers who care. Give thanks for the miracles each day brings. You are not alone.