Thanks for Giving

This time of year is always a time to reflect on all that we are blessed with in our lives.  Much of the Thanksgiving holiday centers around family and friends gathering together to share in a meal.  This takes on many forms, but the common denominator is food.  We are fortunate enough to live in not only a country, but a time in history where food is plentiful.  Many of us do not know what real starvation or food scarcity looks like and the abundance of food around us often goes unrecognized. 

Thanksgiving dinner with my family

This year, I not only feel grateful for all the beautiful friends and family in my life, the shoes on my feet, the apartment I live in, my trusted four legged companion of ten years, but for the many varied and delicious foods I have the privilege to enjoy.  I live in a small apartment that does not have a garden.  However, I've managed to carve out a little space to grow my own edibles in pots.  Each day I check to make sure they are happy.  When it comes time to harvest, I feel a sense of utter joy and appreciation for what they have given to me in return.  Growing food is a reciprocal relationship.  What you put into it, is what you get back.  And this goes not only for fruits and vegetables, but for chickens, cows, sheep - any livestock, grain, herb, nut.  The love and care you give to all that feeds you, the more wholly nourished your body becomes.

Many of us use Thanksgiving as a time to bless our food, to give thanks to the animals and fish that gave their lives for us, the plant beings that grew their seed for us, and the land that provided the nourishment to grow.  But what if we gave thanks every meal; paused for a moment and savored all the smells, tastes, and textures of our food?  Really thought of where that food came from and what went into getting it on our plates?  Would we feel any differently about it?  It's worth a try...