Of course Thanksgiving has its shadows. I think it’s important to remember for some Native Americans this is a time of mourning. And we must not turn from the mixing of sorrow and joy that is our lives. There is a reason for this. If we face the world as it is, with its terrors and sadnesses, and its astonishing beauty, and out of that those ten thousand million acts of joy each and every day, most of us will discover within our hearts a sense, an intuition, that many of us find best articulated as thankfulness, as deep gratitude for the world and all life upon it.
I suggest this sense of thanksgiving, of deep gratitude, comes out of our knowing we are so intimately connected. We are one family, all of us on this planet. We are, in a very, very real sense one.
And, like the back of a hand leads to the palm, our sense of gratitude, of interconnectedness, leads us to want to act. We see that the world is not fair, that there is too much hurt, and that we all need to act together. Now we struggle with what are the best ways, fearful of squandering limited time and resources. But, let me suggest if the act is done out of care and attention, if it is informed by our knowing we are connected, if it flows from gratitude, only good will follow.
For some of us this will take the form of that necessary work for transforming society. Others will see a need to devote time and energy to the helping of real people right in front of them. And some of us need to support well-organized actions to help people in this country and around the world with some part of their financial resources.
I suggest we need all these efforts, close to home and around the globe, helping to make sure people are fed and clothed and to join in the struggle to transform cultures. One is not better than the other; all are intertwined and essential.
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