Growing older has brought me an understanding of the value of living in the day, of being grateful for the texture of blessings that each new dawn brings: all we have to do is be mindful. So, on a very regular basis now – without denying that life is often difficult and sometimes downright brutal – I remember to give thanks.
I live in Scotland, home of many expat Americans. Today, and across the world, citizens of the USA both at home and in all corners of the globe will be gathering in groups great and small, familial and otherwise, preparing for today’s great festival of Thanksgiving.
But the spirit of this festival is catching! Whether we are USA citizens or not, Thanksgiving is a great pause point in the year, reminding us to be grateful for whatever blessings we have, great and small. My small contribution from this blog is to collect a few lovely quotations which chime with Thanksgiving Day’s spirit. I do hope you enjoy them.
I would also like to take this opportunity to say a heartfelt “Thank You!” to all the many readers and followers of this blog, especially those who drop by on a regular basis to leave comments: all of you are are gratefully appreciated. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” — William Arthur Ward
“You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.” — G. K. Chesterton
“No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks”. — Unknown
“You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.” — Sarah Ban Breathnach
“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” — Cynthia Ozick
“(Some people) have a wonderful capacity to appreciate again and again, freshly and naively, the basic goods of life, with awe, pleasure, wonder, and even ecstasy.” — A.H. Maslow
“If the only prayer you say in your life is thank you, that would suffice.” — Meister Eckhart
(Many thanks to the DARING TO LIVE FULLY site for the above quotes and IMAGES FOR THANKSGIVING for the jpegs)
450 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2014
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page
Happy Thanksgiving Anne. In Canada we celebrate our Thanksgiving holiday in early October. I was surprised to read that Scotland is home to “many expat Americans”…is there a reason for this, other than Scotland being a beautiful country?
Well, I have relatives in Canada, New Zealand, Australia as a result of the Scottish diaspora of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries – as have many other Scots. So I guess the USA folk here may just be returning the favour! And it shows what good taste they have! Happy Thanksgiving to you too, Bev. And I greatly appreciate your support of my writing. Thank you.
dearest anne, several days ago, when the new moon was in sag, i was introduced to an amazing mystic poet and have been designing collages nonstop, with her words! i am planning (or Something is planning, through me!) to put a book together, after one lunation and will possibly call it New Moon in Sagittarius. would you be interested in writing a brief introduction to the book, simply explaining what the new moon in sag is??? it would be a blessing, indeed, and wonderful exposure for you~ dorothy is in her 80’s now and is a marvelous woman. we are having a wondrous conversation via email and feel like ancient friends! my mother, who was a great poet as well, and died in 1982, burned most of her poetry shortly before she died so i am loving being able to create collages with the words of another elder/poet. in gratitude, rashani
My dear Rashani thanks so much for dropping by. Your timing is good, because after a long, too-busy spell I am having some winding-down and reflective time from Advent onwards. So – I’d be happy to write a brief introduction to your new book. I am also planning to read and reflect on ” Beyond Brokenness” which you so kindly sent me some months ago. Do email me at info@anne-whitaker.com so that we can discuss further what you would like me to do.
Yours also in gratitude on this Thanksgiving Day, Anne
Thank you Anne for this post. And thank you for your work with the 12th House.
Kind of you to call by, Martha! Glad you appreciate my 12th House writings. I was there for a long time some years ago, learned a great deal, wrote a whole book and countless journals – and emerged enriched. So it is good to know that you have benefitted from my learning…Happy Thanksgiving!
Another quotation that fits well, and has always appealed: “Gratitude is the memory of the heart.” (Jean Baptiste Massieu)
I had a lovely time away, although I’m finding it rather difficult to reengage after such a clean break. That’s not altogether a bad thing, of course. It was almost impossible during our recent elections not to get too caught up in the manipulations of the media, or the machinations of the candidates and their followers. You had a bit of that yourself recently, and no doubt know what a relief it can be to get away from the frenzy.
I think its so nice that our Thanksgiving has developed a bit of a following elsewhere. Of course, gratitude belongs in every day, but setting aside a special day is a good way of reminding ourselves of what’s so easily forgotten: the true blessings of life.
Blessings to you, as we move toward Solstice and the celebrations of Christmas!
And Blessings to you, too, Linda, as Advent leads us to the heart of wintertide. Glad you enjoyed your break. I sure am looking forward to mine!