As we ready ourselves for a day of giving thanks, past Thanksgivings run through my head.  So many holidays spent in so many ways.  I have lived quite a lot of places and always found a way to savor the fall harvest surrounded by family or friends.  As a child it was a huge family affair, as an adult a gathering of friends from far and wide. I always love the gratitude with which my world buzzes during this season, but am always sad to know that with Friday comes and reentry to the world outside my home, a return to consumption society, a world I really don’t understand at all.  “Things” have never excited me very much.  Experiences, time spent with those I love, making new friends, hours in nature or creating art; that what lights me up.  So, as we go into this Thanks Giving I hope for one thing more than any, that the gratitude we have all been showing each other the past few days can continue throughout the year without a Turkey to remind us, not with gifts but with words from the heart… “Thank you”; “I appreciate you”; ” You are amazing”; “I love you”, ” You matter” ;” Is there anything I can do to help?”