Giving Thanks

Sustainable Wellness 101

By Cristina Smith

I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and new. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thanks giving. Gratitude. Thanks for giving. Giving thanks. A day dedicated to gratitude and the cornucopia of life in all its manifestations is what Thanksgiving means to me.

Historically, there are three major proclamations of Thanksgiving, though presidents have acknowledged it each year. The seminal proclamation was in 1676 declaring June 29th as the day of Thanksgiving the second by George Washington in 1789 and the third by Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Finally in 1941, Congress sanctioned the November third Thursday Thanksgiving as a legal holiday.

What Lincoln said about it was, ” … The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God….”

Thanksgiving also is a celebration of the abundance of the harvest.  My favorite holiday icon is the cornucopia, also called horn of plenty. It is a decorative motif, rooted in ancient Greece, which symbolizes abundance. The original cornucopia was a curved goat’s horn (Pan, anyone?) filled to overflowing with fruit and grain. It symbolizes the horn possessed by Zeus’s nurse, the Greek nymph Amalthaea, which could be filled with whatever the owner wished.

I enjoy acknowledging the agricultural aspect of the day by planning an intimate feast for 60-85. I live in a community and each member contributes to the preparation and execution of the event. It is such a joy when first time cooks proudly bring their cheesecakes to dinner and show them off to their family and friends! Additionally on the inner, more mystical side, I work with a practice of gratitude for the month. The Go Gratitude (www.GoGratitude.com) practice online is wonderful if you want to check it out.

To foster a fulfilling holiday for yourself, take the time to both work with the gratitude and abundance aspects of the holiday and develop ways to use this time to cultivate your core joyfulness rather than add it to the list of stressful events. It is well worth the effort of outward planning and inner contemplation!

This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for you and your efforts to better yourself, thus making this world a better place. I appreciate the abundant opportunity to celebrate the harvest of nature, community, and gratitude.  Thank you for giving!