Thanksgivings

Hello All out In Blog-land:

Celebrating Thanksgiving this year felt a little different to me than from previous years and as I took a casual poll from patients, friends and people out in the work force, it seems that indeed, there was more of a sense of “getting through it”, more dread,  and an extremely low quotient of gratitude (save for the fact that it would be soon enough over).  I’m not going to attempt to figure out if this was an actual national trend or not, but I am wondering if part of this holiday remorse  was not due to the slow killing off the old fashioned feast of the harvest and its pagan origins by the onslaught of the “holiday season” especially “Black Friday”.

I must have deleted at least 20 emails today alone from aggressive merchandisers who want to make sure I won’t forget their huge sale, best deals ever, the sun-moon & stars of shopping nirvana taking place right now at the malls or online with just a click….

When I theorized to my bank teller Wednesday about how Black Friday might be responsible for adding to the malaise of Turkey Day she agreed and mentioned that her roommate who works in retail had to go to work Thanksgiving at midnight which prevented her from attending her regular family celebration.  I am sure she is far from the only one with this scenario.

Along with the hounding of retailers to get us out there pounding the concrete with fists full of dollars or using our credit cards on incredible online deals, there is also the annoying and consistent trend that has increasingly menaced our thankfulness of the encroaching Christmas season.  Halloween is now when we receive the earliest warnings of early Christmas, although the message is out even before the pumpkins have been carved.

The late John O’Donahue, one of my most cherished Teachers speaks about the spiritual hunger of our (American) culture.  ”There is a fierce hunger for spirit at the heart of an American culture that has lost all belief in the old language about God. That language no longer resonates for most Americans, nor leads them to wells of nourishment.” It is perhaps more than a little ironic that our founding
holiday of Thanksgiving is seemingly on the verge of dissolving into a precursor day to Black Friday, an eating binge of empty calories and credit debt.

Still 29 more shopping days till Christmas…..

Namaste!

Kay

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