I just watched this video of time-lapse photography, accompanied by words from Benedictine monk Brother David Steindl-Rast, and I decided to share it.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the mythology surrounding the American Thanksgiving holiday. It is beautiful to devote a day to the practice of thanks-giving… of offering gratitude for the land on which I live and for the fruits of that land, that nourish and sustain me. And yet, how do I reconcile myself with the notion of thanks-giving while also holding in my awareness the history of genocide and mass destruction upon which this country was built?
So I was just beginning to really get into the rant that was raging inside my head before I even got out of bed this morning, when I received this video from my friend. As I watched it, the sun was just starting to rise, and I thought, “Right! I have so much to be grateful for…”
It’s not about this day, this holiday based on false history and consumerism.
(Though I did enjoy my turkey dinner yesterday… thank you!)
It is about the practice of having each day be “gratitude day”. From that place, I feel so much more capable of making positive contribution to the world. It helps me to remember that the first step is always to look inside my own heart for what needs healing, and then from there, I can move towards “[being] the change [I] wish to see in the world.”
