I have always loved Thanksgiving. In our capitalist world we have a holiday that celebrates shopping for stuff we don’t need and cutting down millions of small trees. We have another that seems to center around stuffed rabbits and plastic eggs. The anniversary of our nation’s founding is mainly an occasion for blowing up lots of imported gunpowder. A celebration of the mystery of death is an occasion for handing out lots of candy and wasting lots of pumpkins. Thanksgiving, though, has not been so corrupted. It is still an occasion for gathering with friends and family for a harvest meal, an occasion for the giving of thanks.
I received an email newsletter from an herbalist I follow the other day, and straight out the gate she told her readers that Thanksgiving is a celebration of genocide. Bomb thrown, she went on to talk about how she could totally get behind a holiday that is about giving thanks. I don't disagree, but her approach was truly self-aggrandizing and alienating. Lots of that on display this time of year, IMHO.
All of this is to say that your writing is truly a breath of fresh air, Mark. You manage to address the uncomfortable truths without anger and guilt tripping, and propose a refreshing new view without preachiness. That is a remarkable skill! Thank you.
Thank you for sharing that wonderful, mighty prayer of gratitude. We so often exchange the wonder and gratitude of life for knowledge. You have inspired me to think of all that I am grateful for this Thanksgiving as I drive many hours to join with family for the holiday feast.
Mark, are you the immune tolerance guy?
I received an email newsletter from an herbalist I follow the other day, and straight out the gate she told her readers that Thanksgiving is a celebration of genocide. Bomb thrown, she went on to talk about how she could totally get behind a holiday that is about giving thanks. I don't disagree, but her approach was truly self-aggrandizing and alienating. Lots of that on display this time of year, IMHO.
All of this is to say that your writing is truly a breath of fresh air, Mark. You manage to address the uncomfortable truths without anger and guilt tripping, and propose a refreshing new view without preachiness. That is a remarkable skill! Thank you.
Moved to tears again….I’m grateful for you!💞
A beautiful sense of awareness and gratitude, beautifully delivered. Thanks for these, and everything you are.
Thanks, brother!
Thank you for sharing that wonderful, mighty prayer of gratitude. We so often exchange the wonder and gratitude of life for knowledge. You have inspired me to think of all that I am grateful for this Thanksgiving as I drive many hours to join with family for the holiday feast.
I am grateful that my soul has this wet blue rock in the vast, mostly-empty, universe upon which to reside.