happy thanksgiving....

it seems like it should be so easy -

a day to take off and just celebrate gratitude.
a day to think of your blessings and enjoy them.

it can get pretty complicated, can't it?
throw all that family into the mix,
throw in missing people who aren't here with us,
and people who are here driving us nuts,
throw in cleaning and cooking and all that......
and it can get pretty crazy.

i don't think i've ever once had a thanksgiving that wasn't
complicated. well, i guess when i was a kid. but it's been
a long time.

but i think this is the first year that i want to kinda hold the
complications themselves as part of the gratitude.
i've tried that before.
but there's a bit more growth in that area this year for me.
i think it makes more sense to me this time around.

i've always been grateful in spite of the hard things.
not because of them.
but they're part of it.
and they add to it.
they add a whole lot.

whatever's mixed into the day and around the edges....
there  might be grief, struggle, some kinda aching....
those are all things that give us the opportunity to be who we are.
those are the things that call our compassion up.
those are the things that call us to be more.

it's not about everything being perfect and wonderful,
it's about everything being full and human.
and the fact that we muddle thru, find pieces of love,
offer our hearts even when they hurt, and stop and gasp
at a sunset even thru tears.

it's the whole deal.
feeling grateful for the whole.
not just the good.

i have a card i wrote a few years back that says this kinda thing......
and it's actually called 'thanksgiving'.....so i've gotten this concept
before....but this year, i feel like i got an extra layer to it.....
and i hope each year to just go a little deeper into the thought.
i think it's depths can go pretty far.....


"she closed her eyes and thought of her year.  it couldn't be just the "good" she was thankful for.  it had to be the "all"... the fullness, the depths, the journey. the dance of Life. for these she gave thanks."


wishing everyone a happy thanksgiving.
may you remember your light today and may you
remember that in the darkness, it has the opportunity to shine.