As I write I am sitting with a full heart and a full belly. Thanksgiving is over and I am still digesting the sweetness of being with family. I live three thousand miles away from my brother Bob, his wife, and my two nieces and their three children so it is very special to break bread with them in person rather than virtually. We don’t get to visit very often so it is always meaningful to see how the kids have grown and developmentally matured. Us elders also have changed as we have aged and don’t look or act like we did when we were the kids. I am all too aware of the passing of time and the passing of generations. I am now the oldest in this gathering and I’d love to host the event but my husband and I are visitors and it is my niece who cooked the turkey and made most of the holiday meal. She laid out the table, organized the food, and hosted the celebration with us elders helping, a reversal of roles. While we sat sedately the children, a four-year-old, a three-and-a-half-year-old and a ten-year-old ran around having a glorious time with each other. During dinner, they sat at the children’s table which brought back memories of Bob and me being kids and sitting with our cousins many years ago while the grownups ate. Bob and I kept saying how my mother would have loved being here and seeing us all together. Seeing how hard my nieces and their husbands work to manage a household, career, and child-rearing I had a fresh appreciation of my mother and all she did in raising my brother and myself. I wish I could have thanked her more. Not having children I continue to be impressed by the patience, energy, and the skill it takes in raising a family. It’s relentless. It’s wonderous, challenging, and a blessing…and it goes by very quickly, even when we are caught in a moment that feels interminable.

Ideally, each day is an opportunity to give thanks for what we have, and too often as we engage in modern living don’t take the time to stop and appreciate. 

Bob and I and our spouses are the elders now and new traditions are being formed. This year his daughter Anna brought to Thanksgiving a reading included in Braiding Sweetgrass that was written and said daily by first nation people, the Haudenosaunee‘s, and we went around the table reading it. It is called the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address Greetings to the Natural World and begins by thanking

The People 

Today we have gathered and we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living things. So now, we bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and thanks to each other as people. 

Now our minds are one.

The Earth Mother 

We are all thankful to our Mother, the Earth, for she gives us all that we need for life. She supports our feet as we walk about upon her. It gives us joy that she continues to care for us as she has from the beginning of time. To our mother, we send greetings and thanks. 

Now our minds are one. 

The Waters 

We give thanks to all the waters of the world for quenching our thirst and providing us with strength. Water is life. We know its power in many forms- waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the spirit of Water. 

Now our minds are one. 

And continues with 

The Fish, The Plants and Food Plants, Medicine Herbs, Animals, Trees, Birds, The Four Winds, Thunderers, The Sun, Grandmother Moon, The Stars, Enlightened Teachers, and 

The Creator

Now we turn our thoughts to the Creator, or Great Spirit, and send greetings and thanks for all the gifts of Creation. Everything we need to live a good life is here on this Mother Earth. For all the love that is still around us, we gather our minds together as one and send our choicest words of greetings and thanks to the Creator. 

Now our minds are one. 

Closing Words 

We have now arrived at the place where we end our words. Of all the things we have named, it was not our intention to leave anything out. If something was forgotten, we leave it to each individual to send such greetings and thanks in their own way. 

Now our minds are one. 

This translation of the Mohawk version of the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address was developed, published in 1993, and provided, courtesy of: Six Nations Indian Museum and the Tracking Project All rights reserved. 

Thanksgiving Address: Greetings to the Natural World English version: John Stokes and Kanawahienton (David Benedict, Turtle Clan/Mohawk) Mohawk version: Rokwaho (Dan Thompson, Wolf Clan/Mohawk) Original inspiration: Tekaronianekon (Jake Swamp, Wolf Clan/Mohawk) 

I share this Thanksgiving greeting with you. As you read this I will be home again in Worcester but I hope to continue giving thanks each day beginning when my eyes open in the morning and I am alive for another day and when the day and my body sleeps. Let’s give thanks this Thursday when we meet for our monthly Wise Aging Group. Thanks to people who may no longer be with us but continue in our hearts and minds and thanks to all the mundane daily tasks required as we move through the day and take on the responsibility of living fully.

I thank you for reading this and joining me this Thursday, December 1 at 11 AM, EDT. 

Here is a link to the meeting information including the Zoom log-in.