Second Wednesday Thanks-a-gram

from The Native American Pilgrim

As we approach the final week of November, many people are making preparations for Thanksgiving. Up until this point, we have endured the end of summer, back-to-school season, the changing of the seasons, and all of the other various and (possibly) stressful transitions that fall may deliver us. However, we must remember that we all have celebrated at least one of the major bounties that each of these moments have offered us in exchange for our proximity to the sunshine that we all have celebrated during the spring and summer seasons. It was—and is—during these moments and exchanges that all of us can cherish the transitional benefits from which we all can extract gratitude and warmth, even during the colder and darker months of the year when even the animals retreat from their social obligations and hibernate inside their caverns of comfort and seclusion.

It is no accident that the last major holiday prior to the winter holidays, such as Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Diwali, and other Winter Solstice events is dedicated to giving “thanks.” This coincidence just happens to represent the (perceived) adjoining of the Native Americans and English Settlers during the harvest season of the year 1621. Even though there is some hesitance by certain cultures or individuals to accept this portion of scripted history, those who are able to transcend cultural, religious, or historical barriers look past the possible alteration of history and can still focus on the positive messages that this major American holiday provide to us so that we all may feast upon the abundance of goodwill, good fortune, and gratitude that lead us into the coldest and darkest month of the year.

As I was growing up, I always enjoyed Thanksgiving. During my childhood, I was one of many other American children in the 1980’s that listened to the stories of Native Americans, the Pilgrims, participated in the craft-making of paper or hand-printed turkeys, school plays, and other culturally-significant events that busied us as children before a shorter week of school at the end of November. I also remember as a child all of the food and treats that my various family members would prepare. This preparation not only brought on the presence of various cooking spices, scented candles, holiday decorations, and other tasks, but also the presence of each family member—during the days leading up to (and the day of) Thanksgiving. During my own presence in each of these moments, I never once thought about the longer evenings, the colder temperatures, or any of the various tasks or chores that went along with getting prepared for the winter months.

It was by complete absence and ignorance that I was actually celebrating Thanksgiving simply by being present with my family and merely appreciating the moments that we each shared together. This, of course, did not require any of us to purchase gifts, exchange names, or place anyone under the expectation to do anything other than simply “show up” to share in the various harvests of presence, love, appreciation, and excitement in which each of us shared during the last Thursday of November. In addition, there were no discussions about political discourse, social norms or expectations, or any other possible rifts for disagreement. This sense of peace and togetherness, of course, is not always present in everyone’s family during Thanksgiving get-togethers, but it was in mine, and for that—and innumerable other reasons—I am forever thankful/grateful.

Though my example of Thanksgiving will surely differ from others, for me it allowed me to perceive every other holiday beyond its cultural or social significance and expectations that each seemed to bring. Beyond every gift or card was always the conscious or physical “presence” that arrived in my mind or within my senses during—and leading up to—every holiday. It is this sense of awareness that always goes beyond the veils of variation and differences (cultural or otherwise) that seem to cloud or conflict with each individual’s experience, perception, or understanding of our own holidays as much as it can provide an abundance of “digestible” acceptance and tolerance of other individuals’ or groups’ experiences and perceptions.

And so, my offering of “Thanks” to everyone in my life—those I have known or have yet to know or will never meet—is the exchange of gratitude that I have for each and every moment that has been shared in my life. It is the presentation of “presence” that—in mind or otherwise—has allowed me to appreciate that which lies beyond my sensory awareness. Though the smells, sights, tastes, and feelings that arrive in abundance during every holiday offer a cornucopia of pleasures, I am always reminded and return back to the moments of presence that stand out as memory markers in my heart and in my mind. After all, these are the places that each of us seek to harvest in abundance during EVERY day of the year. If there is one thing that we all have in common it is that none of us need a reason or a holiday to over-indulge on gratitude from the people we have accepted into our hearts and those who have made us who we are today.

For all of these reasons, I am thankful.

Sincerely,

The Native American Pilgrim

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