Walk the talk

In Freya's mailbox this morning . . . more gratitude reminders:

The capacity for a grateful perspective needs daily nurture and tending. . . . It's a practice, this looking at the world through grateful eyes and with a grateful heart. It is an exquisite end in itself. – after Kristi Nelson

As a part of that practice, Mirabai Starr calls us to embrace not only thanksgiving but its shadow. Thanksgiving Day is not just about gathering, sharing a meal. It is also about remembering and among those memories paying homage to our indigenous bretheren. There are myths around this holiday that call for debunking. We might start with a reflection: the Pilgrims did not discover the Wapanoags. The Wapanoags discovered the Pilgrims.

Garrison Keillor reminded us that today is the 187th anniversary Andrew Carnegie's birth in Dunfermline, Scotland (1835). Over the course of his life, Carnegie endowed 2,811 libraries and many charitable foundations as well as the internationally famous Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He also bought 7,689 organs for churches. The purpose of the latter gift was, in Carnegie's words, "To lessen the pain of the sermons." No doubt, many were grateful for the latter.

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” - attributed to John F. Kennedy