Thanksgiving

 

Today it's Thanksgiving Day in the US.

A day to visit family and to feel grateful for the good things we have: the freedom to travel to see distant loved ones, to eat the foods we like, to say our thanks to God or to Buddha or whatever being we wish to thank. We may have a great deal to be thankful for or we may be grateful that someone cared enough to simply be kind in a world that often forgets kindness.

It's also a day to regret that our good things came at the expense of others: the people who lived here centuries ago who did not know their way of life was about to be destroyed, the turkeys that were raised on factory farms who never got to see the sky over the sheds they spent their entire lives in, the people who live in the Congo who are being systematically wiped out so mining companies can dig up the minerals we need to run the remote to watch the parades and football games.

Thanksgiving—a time to feel profound appreciation and an opportunity to decide to live in a manner that will enable more beings to be grateful next year.

Comments

[Erica]

Dear Venerable,
Thanks for sharing the article. We must be grateful for what we have and not take for granted .
May all beings be free from suffering and its causes .
Amituofo ___/\___

Erica