Thanksgiving Gratitude

Thanksgiving to me is a time of good fortune, divine grace and spiritual enlightenment. When I look around at what I have, I cannot help but feel thankful for:
-friends who honestly care about me, for you are my true source of sustenance and joy.
-a loving and attentive husband, whose embrace reminds me daily of the importance of love.
-a shala-refuge that is a center for being happy, healthy and holy, which is the heart's foundation stones.
-my dogs and cats, and orange-yellow trees against a bright blue sky, and cool winds that rustle leaves, and crisp mornings where the grass crunches underfoot.

I am grateful for these things and more. Gratitude is about the bounty of nature and a respect of god. To sit at a table with food before you - either alone or surrounded by family - considering the intent of this singular day, demonstrates self-respect for god within us.

"For I was hungry, and you gave me meat: I was thirsty, and you gave me drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in: Naked, and you clothed me: I was sick, and you visited me."
-Mattheuw 25:35-36

Yes, we should have thanks everyday, in every inbreath and out breath, and this gratitude should be felt and acknowledged and practiced in the most heartfelt way.

T - truth and tenderness
H - harmony
A - aspiration
N - now
K - knowledge
S - surrender

Bow to the divine within you.

Give thanks every morning for your health,

for your body and for your mind.

Be thankful to live a life of usefulness,

for yourself and others.

Let your heart be filled with thanksgiving everyday.

Om Peace!
Yogini Valarie Devi