Harvesting Thanks

Even if we aren't always sure of the true historical accuracy or roots of the holiday, as Americans, we take the time every year to celebrate the holiday commonly known as Thanksgiving.  We coin it as a time where family and friends gather together to eat copious amounts of foodstuffs as part of a gratitude for everything good in our lives.  Usually this tradition includes roasting a large turkey with it's many trimmings, such as stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and so on.  I've always found it amazing that it seemed to be the one holiday that removed the issue of gifts and almost seemed completely untainted, aside from the blurring of the historical inaccuracies.  Although today, many people cook different items other than turkey as their main course.  For me and my husband, Thanksgiving isn't about pilgrims or anything remotely of that vain.  It's about the harvest and the celebration of Autumn's bounty.  The occasion to celebrate the last warm days of the year with a feast and know that better things are to come. 

Whether we hear the calls of the geese as they fly south toward their destinations for the Winter or we smell the crisp Autumn air, this is the earth's cycle in action and it has a profound effect on each of our lives.  The harvest season is a time of reflection of the beauty we've enjoyed during the Summer months, and prepares us for the cooler months that are approaching.  We incorporate rituals, celebrations, and traditions, like Thanksgiving, to keep the spirit of the harvest alive long into the dead of the Winter months.  Take some time to contemplate and reflect on the events of the year during the holiday.  Autumn is about abundance and gratitude for all of our accomplishments, but it's also about the colors and wonder we experience as the season progresses.  We find gratitude in the festive and beautiful nature of change, whether it's consuming a slice of apple pie with family, taking a ride in the country to look the trees in their Autumnal colors, watching the Macy*s Thanksgiving Day parade or even channelling your youth by jumping in a pile of raked leaves. We can find beauty in the transitory because, in this Autumnal season, it's all around us.