Journal of Sacred Work

Days 322-323 Thanksgiving & Gratitude

Note: This reflection on Thanksgiving is offered by Terry Chapman

"Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse." -Henry Van Dyke

Hunger

Sitting with those we love, full of Thanksgiving Day turkey and trimmings, it’s pretty easy to be thankful. But, if we stop there we miss out on a much deeper meaning. Thanksgiving conveys gratitude for a state of blessedness you wish for another human being.  World wide the meaning is quite clear:  Reach out to one another along your way; offer help and assistance whether as a professional caregiver or as a family member or volunteer. Give affection and caring freely and always try to see yourselves in others.

This is not hard to do when the other is attractive and somewhat like ourselves. The test of true gratitude for others comes when that other person is unattractive, dirty, or evil in nature.  Then we must commit our inner self to our human connection and pitch in regardless of their gender, social class, form of dress, form of religion or none, or their sexual preferences.  None of this matters to God who is all in one and complete in its essence of love and purity of nature!

So far in my life of 78 years I’ve found that every person I’ve met has at least one stellar quality or gift from God that is unique and irreplaceable. For one it might be the ability to organize family gatherings; for another they can bake food that we lust for and for another it could be the gift of presence such that when we are with this person, we feel better about life and about ourselves!

These gifts should be celebrated by living fully and in helping other human beings whenever we meet them and without regard to how we feel at that time.  In our gratitude, these earthly blessings magnify a state of grace despite all the repeated challenges and pitfalls and natural disasters on our planet.  Today is certainly the first day of the rest of our life on Earth and I am extremely grateful for my existence and for yours.  Happy Thanksgiving! 

Terry Chapman

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2 responses to “Days 322-323 Thanksgiving & Gratitude”

  1. Liz Wessel Avatar
    Liz Wessel

    Thanks for this encouragement to think of every person we meet as our brother and or sister, Terry. “There but for the grace of God, go I.”
    In living and dying and in the letting go, there is much suffering. I first heard this said on this Journal by Cathy Self who wrote a reflection called something like “Our Shared Pain.” As various people in my life are going through the heartache of losing a loved one or caring for an ill family member I am reminded of Cathy’s wisdom. We may not be going through that circumstance at the present moment but perhaps we have in the past or inevitably will in the future and this enables us to empathize more deeply and profoundly, for ours is a shared life, One life, in the living and the dying and in new life. Amen.

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  2. erie chapman Avatar
    erie chapman

    You captured so much of the real meaning of Thanksgiving in this sentence. That it is “gratitude for a state of blessedness you wish for another human being.”
    Yes. You are right that the meaning of Thanksgiving is clear. Simultaneously we are in constant need of reminding ourselves because of the natural state of the fortunate to take things for granted.
    Thank you for your eloquent articulation of meaning for so powerfully pointing out the deep need we have to be grateful for what we wish for others.
    Hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving, Terry. You are blessed partly because you appreciate others so well. And we are both blessed to be part of wonderful families that share long histories of love.

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