A Post Thanksgiving Message...

Thanksgiving’s Message



Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays growing up and now that I am adult I can say that it is my favorite holiday.  When I was a child I liked it most because I loved watching the Macys Thanksgiving Day parade in the morning, while my mom would be preparing the meal.  I can still viscerally connect with the feeling of anticipation of family coming as I watched the parade balloons, Rockettes, and musical numbers of the current Broadway shows. 

The Thanksgiving meal is always good and we all have our traditional favorites (please more sweet potato casserole with marshmallows)!  But it’s not necessarily the traditional foods that have so much sentiment, but the intention and symbolism behind putting together a thanksgiving meal.  When you think of turkey, stuffing, string bean casserole, and pumpkin pie, you think of Thanksgiving and the memories associated with it.  Personally whenever I have a similar meal that is not on Thanksgiving Day, I still call it a thanksgiving meal and get flooded with memories of the holiday.   And these are memories travel over the course of my life journey. I can still remember making the pilgrim hats out of construction paper, putting on a thanksgiving play, coming home for thanksgiving during my college years, and the more recent years. 


Of course we visit the theme of gratitude on thanksgiving and reflect on all that we are grateful for from family, to health, to the body, to career, friends, the simple things, etc.  Another theme Thanksgiving reminds us so well of is abundance.  Well of course there is an abundance of food, and our bellies feel abundantly full, but also Thanksgiving reminds us of the abundance of blessings with have in our lives.  It is fullness of the heart.  The more we connect with gratitude, the fuller the heart becomes.  Unlike the stomach, the heart doesn’t have a moment where it’s too full and has no more room.  The abundance of the heart is infinite and there is always room for more gratitude. 

I love how Thanksgiving is associated with gifts of gratitude, rather than monetary gifts.  We don’t get asked “what did you get for thanksgiving?” nor do we get over stressed about “what gifts to give.  Yes the cooking can be an overwhelming, but at least we aren’t bombarded by commercials and advertisements and monetary stress we endure during the holidays that follow Thanksgiving.  Well, if someone were to ask me what I got for thanksgiving, I would respond with this answer…

I received so many gifts! I was surrounded by my family and friends, shared a hearty meal, reminisced about past memories and made new ones, and was reminded of all that I am grateful for, which is truly the gift that keeps on giving. 

I’m so full!!!!!


Hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving!  I am grateful for you and thank you for reading.

Namaste

Abundantly Yours,
Julie  


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