As Thanksgiving nears each of us is drawn to the concept of “giving thanks” and of understanding that we each receive and that we each are called to give. Gathering of family is an opportunity to share the experience of gratitude and to understand that giving and receiving are two sides of a coin. When a gift is given the giver gives it freely and without restrictions. However, if a gift is given conditionally it is no longer a gift, but rather a form of manipulation or control. “I will do this for you if you act or respond as I want you to.” Receiving a gift also requires suspension of judgment, an open heart and acceptance.

In some ways celebrating Thanksgiving can be fleeting in our lives, can be only superficial. This can happen if gratitude is reserved just for this holiday or is applied only to gratitude for material things. There is a deeper type of gratitude or appreciation that we can achieve in our daily lives.

To quote Eckhart Tolle, whose work I admire, “The greatest form of suffering and frustration and non-fulfillment is the clash between the mental story of what “should” be and what is. That’s really the root of the madness. There cannot be gratitude when that operates in your life.” Acceptance of what is ~ this is an important foundation for true gratitude in your life. When one is truly grateful for being alive and has appreciation for all the gifts of life, that gratitude extends even to things that are challenging. I recently thought about how this applied to my life and my gift after seeing the move Hereafter.

The character portrayed by Matt Damon, presented the “gift” of mediumship as a curse ~ an unwanted gift. This caught me by surprise! When anyone is given the gift and responsibility of being a healer, of course there is a burden of effort, emotion, and concern. However, when one experiences sharing the peace and healing of the gift, then the burden of good or bad dissolves. The Medium acts as a clear channel with the self completely removed, and what remains is only the healing. I truly believe that the movie Hereafter was a limited version of what truly happens. I enjoy Matt Damon’s work; however, gratitude and humility were missing from the portrayal.

I hope that each of us can bring both acceptance and thanksgiving into daily practice.