Thanksgiving in May

4 inch offering pouch created by DWM Canvas & Leather, Portland OR. Available soon!  

May 1st is the halfway point between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. Around the world, in ancient earth-based traditions, this was a time of celebration.

It is also the halfway point to Thanksgiving, and the question I am asking myself and reflecting on is: How am I living in gratitude and Ayni? I wonder how many people across the land celebrate Thanksgiving regularly, especially at the halfway point of the year.

This question is being brought into stark relief as I re-read Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall-Kimmerer, for the 5th (or more) time. I am humbled by her words and actions, her teachings, and the teachings she continues to bring forward from her lineage - and by the language she wields with such a deep consciousness.

As I reflect and ponder my own actions, I realize I could do better. Day to day, I could be more present, more thankful, and more reciprocal (Ayni). However, that is not the best way to hold myself. That judgment isn’t beneficial for my soul. What is beneficial is to hold myself in acknowledgement of what I do throughout the day.

• I give thanks for the food I eat, and all the hands that touch it on its way to my kitchen or plate.

• I give thanks to Inti Taytay (Father Sun) for lengthening each day.

• I give offerings to the land we live on, which supports our family, and that we are honored to steward.

•  I give offerings to the tree beings, the plant beings, the animal beings, and the spirit of wind, spirit of water, and Pachamama here on this half acre.

• I make offerings to the holy mountains from the top of the world to the tip of Patagonia, honoring my benefactor mountain Apu Ausangate by gifting whatever calls out to be gifted.

• I am also in gratitude for hot water, our ability to have A/C and heat, and the house we live in.

This thought stream also brings to mind the Thanksgiving Address by the Anishinaabe & Potawatomi people that Robin Wall-Kimmerer shares in her book.  What would it be like, in these times when the world feels like it is on fire, if everyone everywhere spoke the Thanksgiving Address - in groups and individually? How might it change our relationships with everything? How might the fires start to calm if gratitude and reciprocity became the lived experience of this era?

I welcome your thoughts and your practices of gratitude and Ayni!

You can read the Thanksgiving Address here.

Munaycha,

Rosemary