There must be many people who consider Thanksgiving to be one of our best holidays. And least corrupted. Granted, its proximity to Christmas, our most obscene holiday, gives Thanksgiving a halo. But even without the easy comparison, Thanksgiving is easy to feel good about. Even people who dislike the vague religious overtones of the word "thankful" can still be comfortable being grateful to a "what", rather than a "who".
Wouldn't it be nice if the fine sentiments expressed at Thanksgiving really meant something -- something beyond mere ritual? Maybe they do, for some of the people who express them. They have a different life story than mine, or they have more imagination, or are making more of an effort. Who knows?
My guess is that most people have difficulty feeling genuinely thankful at Thanksgiving, although of course they all like to say they do. The holiday tradition should de-emphasize the meal and the ensuing food coma. Aren't you supposed to do something on a holiday that you don't do the rest of the year?
The average body in America is starting to look like those starring in "People of Walmart." Where are you more than a 3 minute drive from a convenience store or fast food outlet? How could the average American feel anything genuine about a holiday feast if they've never experienced want and hunger, and if they have never grown food?
It's not so easy to find a replacement ritual for the Thanksgiving feast. Any ideas? How about a neighborhood volk wanderung?
How could a country that carries food, gasoline, heating and air conditioning, debt, and every kind of consumption to extreme really pretend to be grateful and thankful for anything?
But what would the alternative be? At the moment I'm having trouble releasing the Continental Divide in southwestern New Mexico where it finally falls out of the last mountain range, debouches onto the desert alti-plano, and fades off into an ethereal mathematical concept. On the mountain bike ride today we went by some backwoods, off-the-grid homes.
Backwoods cabins, blue-water sailors, bicycle tourers, and RV campers (away from hookups) do not need to suffer intense privation of any kind. But they do have to put some deliberate effort into generating and storing electricity, finding water, stockpiling and meting out food, staying warm or cool, etc. On a daily basis, they are made more mindful of all the goodies it takes to live.
"Thankfulness" about anything is impossible unless you are at least consciously aware of it first. But it's only a handful of unconventional lifestyles that have any conscious awareness of what they are using. When an ordinary homeowner flushes their toilet they use about half the water that I do in an entire day! That sort of unconscious waste permeates the entire middle class lifestyle.
So why don't we just admit that although "thankfulness" is a well-intentioned sentiment, it can only be an empty platitude, best left inside a Hallmark card, at least for the standard middle class suburban lifestyle.
The most remarkable part of the unconventional lifestyles mentioned above is that their appreciation of the goodies of life can last day after day. I never really take water or electricity for granted. Rather than thinking of the "simple life" as an endless process of subtraction, let's think about adding the daily ability/habit of being aware of the goodies in our lives.
Wouldn't it be nice if the fine sentiments expressed at Thanksgiving really meant something -- something beyond mere ritual? Maybe they do, for some of the people who express them. They have a different life story than mine, or they have more imagination, or are making more of an effort. Who knows?
My guess is that most people have difficulty feeling genuinely thankful at Thanksgiving, although of course they all like to say they do. The holiday tradition should de-emphasize the meal and the ensuing food coma. Aren't you supposed to do something on a holiday that you don't do the rest of the year?
The average body in America is starting to look like those starring in "People of Walmart." Where are you more than a 3 minute drive from a convenience store or fast food outlet? How could the average American feel anything genuine about a holiday feast if they've never experienced want and hunger, and if they have never grown food?
It's not so easy to find a replacement ritual for the Thanksgiving feast. Any ideas? How about a neighborhood volk wanderung?
How could a country that carries food, gasoline, heating and air conditioning, debt, and every kind of consumption to extreme really pretend to be grateful and thankful for anything?
But what would the alternative be? At the moment I'm having trouble releasing the Continental Divide in southwestern New Mexico where it finally falls out of the last mountain range, debouches onto the desert alti-plano, and fades off into an ethereal mathematical concept. On the mountain bike ride today we went by some backwoods, off-the-grid homes.
Backwoods cabins, blue-water sailors, bicycle tourers, and RV campers (away from hookups) do not need to suffer intense privation of any kind. But they do have to put some deliberate effort into generating and storing electricity, finding water, stockpiling and meting out food, staying warm or cool, etc. On a daily basis, they are made more mindful of all the goodies it takes to live.
"Thankfulness" about anything is impossible unless you are at least consciously aware of it first. But it's only a handful of unconventional lifestyles that have any conscious awareness of what they are using. When an ordinary homeowner flushes their toilet they use about half the water that I do in an entire day! That sort of unconscious waste permeates the entire middle class lifestyle.
So why don't we just admit that although "thankfulness" is a well-intentioned sentiment, it can only be an empty platitude, best left inside a Hallmark card, at least for the standard middle class suburban lifestyle.
The most remarkable part of the unconventional lifestyles mentioned above is that their appreciation of the goodies of life can last day after day. I never really take water or electricity for granted. Rather than thinking of the "simple life" as an endless process of subtraction, let's think about adding the daily ability/habit of being aware of the goodies in our lives.
Comments
Every time I turn around someone is bringing in doughnuts, organizing a potluck or snack day or celebrating somebodies birthday with cake and the chairs keep getting wider.
Going for a walk at lunch instead of going out to lunch can get you the fish eye.
Or maybe "Happy Diabetes Day!"
Now go BBQ a Smurf. It's tradition.
After the Thanksgiving fast, let's have a consumer strike on Black Friday.
Yet ironically it doesn't mean they aren't thankful for the opportunity to be such gluttons.
It seems to me that it is inherent in human nature to take as much as one can and give back as little as possible, and then to congratulate oneself for the little they do give back and minimize the amount they have taken.
It's a noble exercise to engage in Thankfulness....an attempt at least at humility but such Thankfulness will quickly end as soon as one's security (gluttony) is jeopardized. The notion of "Thankfulness" in an obscene society has become more of "I must be a good person to be so thankful, and therefore so worthy to be so fat with food and possessions."
Well there used to be a "Buy Nothing Day" but that seems to have fizzled out somewhat and they're now calling it "Occupy X-mas."
I'm not really into mass manipulation of population behavior. I'd rather see individual consciousness change. When that happens change is real, easy, and more permanent.
Hey, there's 5 of those every week.
http://thisisindexed.com/2012/11/often-a-matter-of-perception/
I once poked fun at a best-selling Simplicity guru of 20 years ago, who wrote a series of books telling people how to "achieve" the beatific state of Simplicity. But the books kept getting thicker each time a new one came out!