This time of year, it is quite natural for us to say and
hear multitudes of gratitude laced sentiments.
Lists of things, people, experiences, miracles, circumstances,
relationships, opportunities that we’re all so very grateful for. This Thanksgiving season and particularly on
the 4th Thursday of November, Facebook is filled with them. Dinner tables everywhere make time for
sharing them. Strangers seem more
generous with smiles. There is a
palpable warmth in the chilly Autumn air.
This of course, is
good. But it got me wondering. What is gratitude, really? Beyond a momentary sentiment that we surely
feel deep in our bones. Beyond a
seasonal fleeting day where we gather and stuff our “hungry” (glutenous) faces
with Grammy’s famous cranberry sauce.
Beyond the natural excitement in our hearts that the the holidays are now
just around the corner. Surely this feeling- this sentiment that fuels heartfelt energy to keep family traditions
alive, that keeps our nation shutting down for a day to commemorate it-this
feeling of gratitude, “Thanksgiving” must intimate something much more than a
momentary feeling of self-focused gratefulness.
What I thought, was the original intent?
Further, have we done well by this tradition, or have we missed the mark
of its intent?
As I thought on this, I decided to research the origins of
the actual Thanksgiving holiday.
I
reached deep into my memories of my Kindergarten Pilgrim costumes (I always chose
to dress up as the Pilgrim because it was easier to make-but the Indian
costumes were always way better-colorful and fun), and took my questions to
google.
I was surprised to discover the ORIGINAL
Pilgrim concept of Thanksgiving had nothing to do with the feasts that we focus
our attentions to now. Rather, the
tradition of expressing thanks to the Lord are recorded as a full day of prayer
and FASTING (huh?) to show gratitude for the mercies and provisions given to a
struggling colony. That’s
right-FASTING. Like, the opposite of
feasting. Now-I’m in no way suggesting
we revert to this. I personally have a huge
bowl of mashed potatoes waiting on me tomorrow-I can hear them calling to me
already. But it is an interesting
twist. The biblical intention for the
act of fasting is essentially giving up food (or something else) for a period
of time in order to focus your thoughts on God. While fasting, many people read
the Bible, pray, or worship. Fasting is found throughout the Old and New
Testaments of the Bible, over fifty times!
The outcome of course, it to develop a disciplined attitude of submission and ultimately, GRATITUDE.
But-the bible also uses beautiful descriptions and lots of
examples of bountiful feasts to celebrate both special moments and of course
our gratitude. And, as my god-daughter
Noelle always reminded us with her sweet little smile “It’s never a party
without a cake”. So, the natural course
of our nation’s history is easy to understand-the celebration of Thanksgiving is
followed by FEASTS!
Since childhood we’ve all been taught the story of the first
time Pilgrims and Indians came together over a harvest feast. The fact that we’ve
added our Disney feel good ending to much of their story seems irrelevant at
this point. It would be some 100 plus
years after the original celebrations (both in prayer and in feast) before the
first state proclaimed a day of thanks, and yet another 100 for the government to
follow suit (Thanks Abe Lincoln!). Of
course, we wouldn’t be a country if we didn’t experience presidential power
plays in the years to come over what date should be “THE” date and whether or
not the government even had the right to proclaim such a holiday…blah blah
(some things never change) …and poof here we are! We get the 4th Thursday of every
November to, as Abraham Lincoln put it, "render thanks to our Heavenly
Father for these inestimable blessings".
The point is that
people-friends, communities and unlikely companions set aside everything else
in life to organize feasts with the expressed intent to celebrate, in
gratitude, bountiful harvests and safe passage into another year.
This of course, is
good. But again…the question
remained-besides a day of thanks, there must be something more? But in a culture where we all get to have
“our truth” and nobody gets to tell anyone what they should believe or what
they should do” …what can we UNIFY around as the call to action as a result of
this national day of thanks? What is our
cultural North Star as a result of this day of thanks? What is the universal answer to “We have
this, now we should go go and do this” question around the purpose of
Thanksgiving?
And then it hit me-Like decoding a secret in a famous Dan
Brown novel, the answer lies not just in the history, not just in the feeling,
but it quite obviously lies in the very word itself. ThanksGIVING.
Can we not agree, regardless of spiritual or cultural differences, that the PURPOSE of this day is to allow
oneself to reflect and celebrate being so profoundly grateful that it creates
and propels forward an attitude of GIVING.
Period. Stop there just for a
minute. The grateful “for what” and giving
“how and to whom” of course are different for each of us, but the feeling and
the purpose of that feeling are SHARED by us all. Or at least that is the idea behind all of
this. Isn’t it?
You see in the end, I realized, for this to work, we CANNOT
stop at “being thankful”. That’s only
half the story. We must ALLOW this
feeling, this belief, this sentiment that we experience to our bones propel us
outward, outside of ourselves to EXPRESS that gratitude in an attitude and
action of giving to others. Generously.
Some may feel led to
give well beyond what makes them comfortable:
of their time, resources and treasures.
For others, God may simply lead you to give kindness, comfort and a warm
smile to one who desperately needs it: a friend, family, strangers…or even to a
foe. Regardless of who, how and how much....the point is to GIVE.
I pray this year for an open mind and a willing heart. To be keenly aware of opportunities to take
the gratitude I feel for so much, submit it and generously give it outward to
the people the Good Lord puts in front of me.
Happy Thanksgiving my friends. May your potatoes be buttery, and your turkey
be juicy. You are all so valuable. You are all so worthy.
Darcy
grat·i·tude
/ˈɡradəˌt(y)o͞od/Submit
noun
the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation
for and to return kindness.
