Thanksgiving is this Thursday. I was inspired by reading Arlo's Happy Thanksgiving - Merry Everything announcement to write an appeal (or what ever you may call it) to give at our family gathering.

After reading my thankful appeal, may we discuss who or what we may or may not appeal to?

Much Love,

Doug

Thank You So Much

We give thanks that we are in this time and place.
We pause to remember what we are thankful for.
Though we may see and feel the ebb and flow of the seasons,
they move slowly and rhythmically, too easily ignored.
Help us understand their meaning.

We see the breeze pushing ripples towards us across life's waters.
Approaching, and then slowly filling our sails and moving us
on to distant and different shores.

Help us see through the fog of human events and be thankful
for this journey and all its joys and pain.
Forgive us for our fears and doubts as we travel relentlessly
toward the end of this earthly pilgrimage.

Thank you for giving us a strong heart to feel all suffering,
and for giving us the strength to help the oppressed,
for giving us an abundance to share with those in need,
for giving us a voice to speak for those silenced by fear,
and for giving us the grace and wisdom to love
and accept all your children as our family.


We are most thankful for the memories of the time we shared
with those who have already finished this course.
Help us to hold them dearly in our hearts.
Bless them with the knowledge of how much they have helped us.
Remind them of our desire to be with them again soon.
Share with them both the earthly and spiritual sensations of this
Thanksgiving Feast.



Creator of the universe, please hear this appeal,
and let it wash over all your domain.

A beautiful and meaningful expression of our spiritual existence. A hopeful blessing, overflowing with sincere humility and gratitude.

I believe we must appeal first to ourselves, and become totally and intensly intimate with the principles you so eloquently articulated before reaching out further toward the discovery of the source of our circumstance. We ARE! As Arlo said, "Sometimes understanding's not all it's cracked up to be. In other words, live now, love now, serve now -- don't wait to understand." I believe that any discussion of who or what we should appeal to must begin within ourselves, our strengths and limitations, and our perfectly created spiritual imperfection.

Thanks Doug, Happy Thanksgiving. You and everyone here in this cloud of pages are among the many things I am humbled by and enormously grateful for.

Love, Kevin

i do, as i have said before, believe that it comes down to us (hoo-mons). i do appreciate that it sounds like you guys have expressed how you really feel. i appreciate when i feel i have witnessed genuine kindness. and even gruff m@+#&r fv@&%rs can have a good heart. believe it or not, in the 21st century, i still think it is awesome to be able to turn a faucet knob and have water come out, both hot and cold. and these marchers and protesters have made my heart smile. this is probably the clumsiest post ever, but it is not always easy for me to nail what i want to say.

Easy or not, my observation is that you do an excellent job of saying what you want to nail!!!

I like that. I dunno. I think I would take the you's out...continue on the line of what we are thankful for and what we can help each other do...and maybe not address it to a higher power than us...

Remember my screen name as you read this...It is definitely beautiful without my input...

I dunno Gus. You can't spell Goofus with the "US" .......!!!

kevin, did you mean to say that you can't spell goofus withOUT the "US"? because i seemed to be following you up until the very last bit there. :)

Sometimes it's hard to remember what I meant or might have been thinking.

No, not the rollin' pin. I'll be good.

oh :) that was just my way of giving kevin a hard time.

I swear I am so dense and slow sometimes! I just "got" that agnes. Perfect and funny