This is the time of year that can invoke a deeper gratitude. We have a choice: we can focus on deeper stress, worries and concern about money, family, health, relationships, life purpose, world events… Or we can focus on the wonders and joy of the season. We can feel thankful for our abundant blessings.
We are made conscious of the presence of the Divine Mystery in the very act of gratitude. When we give thanks for our blessings, we become aware of the beauty of creation. Instead of focusing on problems, we are lifted up beyond the mundane into the realm of Spirit. Such is the gift of this Season.
The holiday of Thanksgiving calls us to remember that we are planetary pilgrims on a great journey, traveling together through the vastness of space. We are involved in a cosmic dance—a collective, mystical quest to penetrate and understand the sacred source of life.
The earth is a bearer of life only because of the sun and its radiant light. Our yearly pilgrimage of the earth around this great source of life becomes a sacrament celebrating our relationship with the Divine Mystery. In ancient times, as the days grew shorter and darker, people became anxious and depressed, fearing that the sun was dying. In order to invite the source of light and abundance back, they created rituals of Thanksgiving, culminating in a great Winter Solstice Festival. Fires were lit to petition the gods, and ancient ones danced to bring back the sun.
For contemporary Planetary Pilgrims, the passage from Thanksgiving to Christmas is a beautiful metaphor for the awakening that can occur through the power of gratitude. Saying thank you to the music that enchants, the person that inspires, the animal that protects, the clothes that adorn…awakens one to the light of love that is shining within everything. It helps to birth a consciousness of the Christ, the Light of Lights.
Jelaluddin Rumi, Sufi seer and poet said:
For sixty years I have been forgetful every minute, but not for a second has this flowing toward me stopped or slowed. I deserve nothing.
Today I recognize that I am the guest the mystics talk about. I play this living music for my host. Everything today is for the host.
Let us feast on our blessings this Holiday Season. As we share our love, praise one another, and give thanks for all things, we become bearers of Light, illuminating the hearts of others.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Love & Blessings,
Rev. Kathy