Giving Thanks

As I grow older, these fall and winter holidays are filled with memories and added meaning: family time; traditions, food, and good cheer; coming together to renew relationships and share stories of the past year.  I also am aware that sadness and isolation inhabit these days as well: families scattered, Loved Ones passed, and gatherings no more.

And, the pandemic has complicated and changed this year's holidays:

• Can we safely share meals in person?
• Is there a way to celebrate Together-Remotely?
  
• Am I thankful, even with Loss Experienced?

 

Am I happy and thankful this year?

What I find interesting about the human spirit is our capacity to:

• Revive, rejuvenate, and hope... WHILE AT THE SAME TIME...
• Hold onto our history, past hurts, and the need to be rooted.

It is almost like we are tethered to Who We Were... while reaching for Who We Want to Become... while we live Who We Are... all within the span of now and today.

Who and what have I lost this year?

 
Giving Thanks and Celebrating Birth at the traditional times of harvest and the darkest winter nights connects this desire to tether and reach:

• How may I give thanks for past and present?
• What expectations and desires do I have for the future?
• Am I stuck in either tethering (past) or reaching (future)... missing who I am now?

Can I share what I am seeing and experiencing?

In many ways the divisions we experience in the world right now can be Seen Within:  we look outward and inward; we live in our pasts and hope (or fear) for our futures.  We are BOTH-AND beings trying to live in EITHER-OR frames of reference.

Over the next few weeks, let's give thanks and celebrate new birth by:

• Asking questions about one another's pasts;
• Sharing our hopes and fears about the future; and,
• Listening -- and learning -- about the person sitting across the table... or miles away on Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, or the phone.
  

 
I am thankful for the many people who have shared their lives with me, giving me hope for the future.  IT IS OKAY to be facing other directions, seeing different views.  But the question for us to answer:  are we willing to talk about what we see, experience, and think?

May thankfulness and peace reign in your hearts this holy-day season!

 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

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