thanksgiving

Picture it . . . . It’s the end of the month in the United States and families are gathered around tables, some heavy laden and well attended, others more sparse in feast and persons. A common tradition is to share the circumstances and people we’re grateful for since our last Thanksgiving.

As we think of what we’re grateful for, it’s almost as if we’re there, reliving the situation or in the company of the person. We’re transported by gratitude. We go back to the emotions of the past.

Can gratitude transport us into the future? Can we feel the blessings to come, as if we were living them now?

And here’s a thought . . . What if we allowed gratitude to connect us more deeply to the now?

We’re gathered around the table between smelly Uncle Harry and critical Aunt Josie and across from our brother’s endlessly caterwauling twins. It’s easier to time travel to the pleasant times we’re grateful for from earlier in the year than to try to avoid looking at the dead bird in the middle of the table. But Cousin Millie, bless her heart and soul, arranged the last of the flowers from her garden over there on the sideboard. And someone must have baked an apple pie, because the nose knows. Can we experience our present gratitude, allowing it to wash over the exposed sore spots, renewing our connection to where we are now, forging strong links between our past and future gratitude?

Whether you’re in the United States this month, celebrating our Thanksgiving tradition, or overseas . . .

May you find yourself meeting gratitude at every step.

 

I am grateful for all of you, for contributing to my professional success, for sharing so deeply of your lives, for inspiring me with your brilliance.  Thank you.