Make This List Before You Carve the Turkey
"Therefore the prayer of thanksgiving should be quite specific: 'I thank thee for this friendship, this threat overpassed, this signal grace.' 'For all thy mercies' is a proper phrase for a general collect, but not a private gratitude. If we are 'thankful for everything,' we may end by being thankful for nothing."
~George Buttrick, excerpted from Devotional Classics, a Renovaré resource for spiritual renewal.
To be thankful for everything is to be thankful for nothing. It’s a gut-punch of a statement; right? It’s easy to go about our days projecting a sense of gratitude, but without specificity, are we really grateful?
As you make your way to your respective Thanksgiving locale, spend some time examining the specific people, places, and things you're grateful for. Grab a pen and paper and write the people, places, and things on a list (or use your list from yesterday). But don’t stop there. To the right of each person, place, or thing, write why.
And then? On Thanksgiving day, share that list with those on your list.
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A Word About These Posts
Over the next year, I’m creating a series of connected pieces, each of which will build on the previous posts. It’s a sober stream of consciousness that began with my Waking series. Where will it go? You’ll have to follow along to find out. So, if you’re not already signed up to receive my daily emails, you know what to do. (And while you’re here, consider picking up my books, Coming Clean and The Book of Waking Up.)
An Intentional Practice of Thanksgiving for Your Feast Week
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Read MoreThanksgiving Week: A Week of Celebration or Excess?
Sure, we need to be aware of what addictions, attachments, and dependencies the holidays might trigger. That’s what it means to live an examined life. But this week, I’ll also ask you to examine the beauty of food, wine, family, and the good stuff of earth. This week, I’ll ask you to push into examined practices of gratitude for it all.
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