Giving thanks on Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving - and it is a time to be thankful. It does not matter if you believe in God, the Goddess, logic, science, the great cosmic coincidence of life itself, or nothing at all - the reality is all of us here are alive and breathing and that is reason alone to be thankful. This is a time of year when some in our extended families have either passed on or may be about to pass on. Death touches us all in one way or another, and nobody really knows what follows after life. Some may believe we live on, some may not - but either way - it makes us appreciate one thing - that we are alive today, and that life itself is the greatest gift that we have to be thankful for. We wake up every today often taking for granted the basic essentials that many in the world are not fortunate enough as us to have - food, running water, electricity, a working bathroom, a roof over our heads, warmth when it is cold, refuge from the sun when it is hot, protection from the wind, our health, and most importantly - loved ones around us.

This day originated almost 400 years ago in 1621 when the pilgrims who came to America from Europe gave thanks for a bountiful harvest. Let us take the time today before we have our feast to remember that everything we may take for granted is a gift, a gift that we should be thankful for while we are here to appreciate everything we are blessed to have.