Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S., time when people collectively choose to focus on appreciations and giving thanks to family, friends and strangers.
As I went for a walk this morning, I was greeted by smiley strangers with wishes of “Happy Thanksgiving”. It seemed like Thanksgiving Day became a point of easy connection.
I believe gratitude is human’s natural state, and settling in a space of appreciation is wholeing (this is not a misspelled word; this is the word I made up). It originates from the word Whole, which dictionary defines as not broken, damaged, or impaired, containing all the elements properly belonging; complete.
And this is going beyond healing, because it says that there is nothing to fix, nothing is broken … this is simply Recognizing oneself as whole… Appreciation is direct, easy and a reliable way to settle in the place of wholeness where gratitude is the air that is breathed in and out, just as naturally as we… breathe.
I call Thanksgiving a Day of Thankful Recognition. We recognize all the good that we created and received in our lives, whether it is people, events, food, weather …etc. It is a great opportunity to shift from an old paradigm of how we perceive certain events/people in our life to an aware state of unity in gratitude.
To recognize is to perceive (a person, creature, or thing) to be the same as or belong to the same class as something previously seen or known (dictionary.com) I love this definition!
As we give thanks, we recognize our belonging to each other, and therefore we can see fellow humans as allies.
We recognize the sameness, that underneath all the visible and imagined differences we can get scared about, we share the universal desire to be loved and to be seen.
Here is to Thankful Recognition! I see you. I see me. I love you. I love me. I thank you and I thank me.
with deep love and gratitude,
Yelena Joy
P.S. Wonder what would happen if we choose to focus on gratitude every day of the year? of life?
