- I'm thankful for a planet that orbits in a regular pattern around the sun, so that we have seasons, and can celebrate the autumn harvest. I'm thankful for a Creator with an orderly mind, Who made the laws of gravity and the heavenly bodies.
- In my tradition, we say a prayer at the start of every holiday, called the Shechechyanu. The translation goes: Praised be thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has kept us in life, sustained us, and brought us to this day. Since August 1945 (I was 4), I've been keenly aware that we humans have the power to destroy all life on the planet. We're still here! 65 years later! Enough people got the message,- that we have to grow up, learn to cooperate and love our neighbors if we are to survive,- to counteract the human tendencies toward hatred, aggression, stupidity. I'm grateful that we've made it to this day.
- I'm thankful for my life, with every breath. Suffering there is in plenty, but it's still a great privilege to experience this beautiful planet, with its great variety of beings, landscapes and seascapes, habitats and cultures.
- I'm thankful for my family, for my husband of 31 years and for my children. They are having a hard time, since our generation and those before us have borrowed from them without their consent- we've borrowed money and resources and left them global messes that are daunting to contemplate. As long as I have life, I will fight for global peace and cooperation, so they have a chance for a good future, for themselves and their children.
- I'm thankful for the US Constitution, our bulwark against fascism, even at this late date. This is the document that unites us as a nation. New citizens and all candidates for office have to swear to uphold and defend it against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Although much ignored, it still establishes We the People as the sovereign rulers in this country, and provides safeguards of our rights and liberties as human beings.
- I'm thankful for our Native American heritage. Thanksgiving
commemorates the kindness shown to the Pilgrims by the local Wampanoag tribe,
who showed them how to survive in the New World. The principle "All men are
created equal"in the Declaration of Independence is taken for granted among
indigenous people, and was adopted by the Founding Fathers in defiance of the
European model at that time,- a class society ruled by kings/nobles.
We owe our Bill of Rights to the Iroquois Great
Law of Peace,
and our Congress is deliberately modeled on their Haudenosaunee, which
was
studied in depth by Franklin, Jefferson and Madison. I'm also grateful
for
Native American wisdom about remaining in harmony with the earth, which
is the
foundation of the ecology movement. I treasure my Native American
friends, and appreciate their willingness to work with the immigrant
culture, which has impacted them so severely.
- I'm grateful for all the peacemakers worldwide, 20 million of whom turned out in January '03 to beg Bush not to invade Iraq. He didn't heed the prayers, but we all know now that the longing for world peace is universal, in every land. I trust that our love of life and common sense will yet turn our situation around.
- I'm thankful for the internet, which allows me to send this message to all of you. It gives us the chance to unite our individual consciousness into a world consensus for peace and a good future. Let's use it well!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
