Thanksgiving 2011
It is easy to get caught up in the issues of our time and forget to be thankful for what is right in front of me!
I am thankful for this beautiful world – for the natural cycles of wind and rain, the jet streams, sun dogs, and rainbows, for the sound of wind in the cottonwood trees, and grand vistas from a mountain top... I am thankful for good cold water when I am thirsty, and a warm fire when its cold. They are good.
I am thankful for ecosystems and ecological succession, for the carbon cycle, for rain, for the earth worms and hover flies in my garden that are equally miracles as are the great whales in the sea. They are good.
Head of a fly - up close and personal...
The drifting green and brown seaweeds amaze me, as do the giant redwoods deep in the forest, also the hillsides covered with chaparral, and the wind blown prairies of grasses. I am thankful for wild flowers that can store all the instructions for life, and weather the storms of winter - all inside a seed smaller than a grain of salt. They are good.
Mountain streamlet - 11000 ft. (this is uncovered from snow 4 months of the year )
I am thankful for the gentle turning of the seasons that bring fresh perspectives to us humans, a season for resting and a season for new birth, a time for exuberance, and a season to return to the soil. They are good.
Two of our dogs - Rusty and Roxy
I am thankful for the people in my lives – for those dear ones with whom I share heritage and history and plans for the future. I am thankful for love and trust and hope. I am thankful for laughter, for shared problem solving. They are good.
Our son Peter and his wife Marila
For colleagues, friends in my community, ex students... they all add to the tapestry of my life... for them I give thanks. In the memory of my mind I remember the many faces and voices who have been part of my life, touched me, made me laugh, made me see new ideas, made me who I am. They are good.
I remember those of other cultures and the people I met only briefly. They are still part of me…They changed me - they added to me... For them I am thankful.
Our friend David, Arusha Tanzania
I can remember 3-minute conversations with strangers that had a more lasting impact on me than long contacts with others. The people in my life are cause for great thanks. They are good.
Nick's relatives, Methone Greece
I am thankful for the mysteries of the human mind - for memory and "seeing things" with the mind. I am thankful for creative insight - that sudden instaneous bursting forth imagining a new way of doing things...a new paradigm... I am thankful for sharing things together.
I am thankful for social institutions – for living in a country “of the people – by the people – for the people”. Where it is part of our agreed upon constitution to protect freedoms. I am thankful for the freedom to challenge the existing system if I see injustice or inequalities.
Wall Mural - Tenderloin District San Francisco - "The City in Harmony"
I am thankful for education, for the opportunities to learn and grow intellectually. I am thankful for the opportunities to teach young teachers - to give to others. I am thankful for my church and the opportunity to ask challenging questions and to find strength for the personal and social ills of our times. I am thankful for those who support me when I feel like I dont have all the answers or when I need to feel understood. They are good.
Child's Painting
The older I become the more content I am to live with the mysteries that I am not able to explain. Human understanding is so limited by time and scale, I would be foolish to think that I can conceive the whole. From what I can see, I know that I am part of a wondrous creation and for this I am thankful. The only prayer that is needed is the prayer of thankfulness.
