This week brings the cultural fervor of Thanksgiving. For many people the Thanksgiving 4-day weekend is an opportunity to travel, and share a traditional feast with family and friends, living at a distance. It may mean "going home", or hosting a return for others. Amazingly, travel predictions anticipate 81.8 million Americans will travel (defined as more than 50 miles) for the holiday this year--a record number--despite, or perhaps because of, a time of uncertainty with weather shifts, the economy, and political divisive drama. As a nation this year, people are willing to travel to be together. This month, I have been exploring gratitude from both a social and spiritual perspective. What strikes me this week, is the power of community. Community has a variety of meanings in the 21st century; extending beyond shared geographic location to include the world of exchange with like-minded people, through social media identities, and electronic spaces of interchange, reciprocity, support and belonging. For many Americans, community includes relatives, friends and colleagues world wide.
Last week, I was invited to two different elementary schools for classroom potluck lunches, hosted by excited first graders. I viewed bulletin boards with delightful art and creative essays about Thanksgiving, and sampled a wide range of snacks and treats from students of varying cultural backgrounds. The kids chatted and joked, proudly displaying their work. Regardless of the political upheaval in the American educational system, I met sincere, dedicated teachers, parents, and grandparents, committed to childhood education--and not just the education of their child or children, but a commitment to care for a community of children. I left those parties with an expanded sense of gratitude for community in its many, many forms.
Even though the story of America's first Thanksgiving carries the weight of tragic wars surrounding the larger history of the Colonists and Native American tribes, historically, there was indeed this space of sharing the Harvest. That space is kin to 'Feeding the Light'. In his book, "Easy Does It", Larry Morris wrote about the human experience of being "In and Out". The times when we feel "awkward and estranged--we're out. There are times and seasons in our life when we feel out....no matter what we do, we don't feel comfortable or at peace with ourselves or our world. Then suddenly, one day, after we had almost given up, our out turns to in; we feel connected once again to ourselves and our world. In and out is the dance of life; no matter how far out we are feeling, there also comes the moment when we feel totally in--then we relax and say, 'Oh, I am OK, after all.'"
Consider that this "In and Out" experience is core to every individual. Consider that the shift to "In" is belonging. It is a sense of Community. Community, of course, is not just about our own sense of belonging, but holding a sense of belonging for others, recognizing that the 'other' is also in Community with us. This recognition is one of the many ways, we feed the Light. The Spiritual Life is not exclusive; Life thrives in differences that are accepted as expressions of Light. This week, I encourage you to expand your gratitude to a broader sense of Community. Happy Thanksgiving. Have a safe, delightful adventure. (Susan Nettleton)
For poetry: https://allpoetry.com/Our-Prayer-Of-Thanks
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49622/perhaps-the-world-ends-here