Talkin' Turkey

I had a brilliant column planned for this month. It was going to be a tribute to Thanksgiving - an article that would inspire you to express gratitude toward others and consequently put you in touch with your spiritual side. I wrote several different drafts of said masterpiece. Yet each one was received with a shrug or yawn. One friend read the piece and said, "There’s no meat to it."

So I rewrote and rewrote. Here’s what I finally came up with for you to chew on…

Things are different from when we were younger. Have you noticed that your usual anticipation of this time of year has turned into something more like anxiety? There are gatherings to host (or attend), decorations to unpack and gifts to buy. The list of people to acknowledge has grown, too: family, the significant other’s family, pre-college friends, college friends, post-college friends, Sigma Nus, neighbors, etc. Overwhelming is an understatement.

But I choose this chaos. I choose to make the special cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving dinner. I choose to write a personal note inside each holiday card I address. I choose to do these things because they’re important and because I know that making pumpkin chiffon pie with Grandma and watching football alongside my unstable uncle, although seemingly obligatory and more than a little lame, are blessings. These peculiar people and assortment of activities are what nourish my spirit and I’m thankful.

To whom do I offer my prayer of thanksgiving? Talking about one’s God or religion or soulful/spiritual self is taboo. No one wants to offend. It shouldn’t be this way, but it is. This Thanksgiving, when asked what you’re thankful for, don’t recite the same drivel you’ve given at the dinner table every year. Really reflect on the question and answer from the heart. That’s how to get at the “meat” of thanksgiving.

Here are a few sites to get things cooking.

		Beliefnet.com is a “multi-faith e-community.” Not affiliated with any particular religion, it’s a site that helps you discern your individual beliefs and discover where they might fit within the global context. Join in the site’s discussions or peruse some powerful prayers. I promise you won’t get bored.
		Busted Halo.com plugs itself as “an online magazine for spiritual seekers in their 20’s and 30’s.” Though based in Catholicism, the material covered in this e-zine is relevant to everyone. If your current routine is to sleep in on Sundays and worship St. Mattress, Busted Halo is a good site to help redirect your energies.
		Mastering Gratitude Thanksgiving shouldn’t be relegated to a single Thursday in November. This rabbi did a WAY better job than I ever could have to inspire the spirit of Thanksgiving. Read his ten formulas to make gratitude a part of your daily life.

This month, savor the flavor by slowing things down a bit. Take the necessary steps to deepen your faith life. Attend a worship service, serve someone in need, offer a prayer and say thank you. Stop just going through the motions of the holidays and remember what they’re really all about. Feed your hungry soul.