Gratitude Feast

Thanks- Giving, Giving Thanks, Feast of Gratitude, Grateful feast...  

For us living in the US, Thanksgiving is this Thursday. It’s become a holiday focused on eating. I love creating an amazing, homemade feast and celebrating the bounty of the season!

Having this pause for a nourishing rest at the end of the harvest season, invites us to enjoy the fruits of our labors, be with family and friends, and participate in traditions that have become touch-stones in our lives.

So, pause right now. Yes! Stop what you are doing.                              

~ Pause ~

Close your eyes for a moment, take two deep breaths, and let a few things you are grateful for come to mind. 

What are they?

If you are moved to share your gratitude with me, please reply to this email. I would to love to celebrate with you!

I have much to be grateful for, not the least of which is all of you. Thank you for believing in the work I do and trusting me to guide you to better health. I appreciate you reading these newsletters, investing in learning from me, and sharing what I do with others you care about. I couldn’t do any of it without you. 

In this vein of gratitude, I want to share two meal blessings with you that I enjoy. Perhaps they will help provide a tone of appreciation for your holiday meal...

The first is a song, but you can easily be spoken too:

First Blessing:
Bless this food and the earth that grew it
Thank you mother for sustaining me
May we walk this red road together
May we live in harmony* 

 *In this Native American-based blessing, "Mother" refers to Mother Earth and the "Red Road" refers to the path of wisdom.

Second blessing: 
This food is a gift of the whole universe 
The earth the sky and much hard work
May we be present enough to appreciate this meal
May we take in only food that nourishes us and prevents disease. 
We accept this food so that we may further the practice of love, compassion, and peace.

(Inspired by Tich Nhat Hahn’s meal chant)
Thanks- Giving, Giving Thanks, Feast of Gratitude, Grateful feast

Let's deepen the meaning of this celebration!
Are you committed to living a more intentional and heartfelt life? Do my teachings inspire you? Consider enrolling in the next Vitality Circle.

May you and yours be blessed as you gather around a table of nourishing food. May you be present to the blessings that fill each day, no matter how small. Summon the gratitude! Feast on it! (see poem below)

LOVE AFTER LOVE by Derek Walcott
The time will come when, with elation you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror and each will smile at the other's welcome, and say, sit here. Eat. You will love again the stranger who was your self. Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart to itself, to the stranger who has loved you all your life, whom you ignored for another, who knows you by heart. Take down the love letters from the bookshelf, the photographs, the desperate notes, peel your own image from the mirror. Sit. Feast on your life.