Plymouth Rock
The traditional history of Thanksgiving is brief, incomplete and mostly wrong.
Tragically, the history of Thanksgiving does no justice to the concept of thanks giving or gratitude. While it is true that in 1621, following a brutal winter and their first harvest, the Pilgrims and Native Americans gathered for a three day feast in Plymouth, Massachusetts -- but more importantly, this marked the beginning of end for most Native American tribes of New England. By 1637, Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut colonies had massacred a significant portion of the Pequot tribe. The Mohegans and Narragansett tribes aligned themselves with the English settlers but they too were gradually pushed from their lands.
During the summer of 1675, conflicts between the settlers and Native Americans eventually led to King Philip's War, proportionately the bloodiest war ever in America where 1 out of 65 colonists and 15 out of every 100 natives were killed. The root cause of this war was certainly the belief of the colonists that "wild" land was theirs for the taking -- the same land the natives relied on for their sustenance.
For a non-traditional, and more accurate, view of Thanksgiving, see Deconstructing the Myths of "The First Thanksgiving".
Okay, so I hope I didn't rain on your Macy's parade. In fact, this is not the first or only holiday that is surrounded by myth. But what about gratitude and the broader history of Thanksgiving? The tradition of giving thanks to God is rooted in many religions and takes many celebratory forms. Saying grace before meals is a common, daily example of giving thanks. Harvest festivals abound throughout the world, and many faiths focus on thankfulness or gratitude.
So, instead of hanging on to the traditional history of Thanksgiving, or being repulsed by the more accurate history of this holiday, let's focus on the true meaning of thanks giving.
Thanksgiving comes once a year (at least in the United States and Canada) but thanks giving ought to be a daily occurrence as we celebrate all the gifts that life has to offer. People who create a life of gratitude are happier, sleep better, are less depressed and less stressed.
How can you create a life of gratitude?
Love and gratitude are closely linked -- if you truly love people then it's easy to let your love shine through by expressing appreciation and thanks for their kindness, their gifts to you and their warmth. I was at a meeting the other day and someone said that she had a life changing moment when she started to view every person in her life as a gift from God. It's a great way to look at life.
Here's what you can do:
1. Appreciate every moment and every day as a gift.
2. Appreciate every person in you life as a unique, worthy individual with their own gifts, thoughts and ideas.
3. Appreciate that even difficult patches in life may increase your understanding.
4. Appreciate and cultivate your natural gifts. Live life with a purpose.
5. Appreciate the gift of time and realize that you should not work your life away.
6. Appreciate both the big and small things that life has to offer.
7. Show your gratitude by saying thank you, by giving small gifts and by taking time to be with people that you love.
Today, I give thanks to my family, friends and to my readers. This blog has been in existence for only a couple of months now and I deeply appreciate all the readers who have stopped by, giving their time and in many cases offering their comments. I have made many new friendships with people around the globe. It is a new and exciting time for me and I am grateful for it.
A final thought -- as we enter this holiday season I find that the most appreciated gifts are not the biggest or the most expensive. One of my hobbies is making pens on a lathe by turning different exotic woods. These are not expensive or all that time consuming to make but people really appreciate them as gifts. If you're handy at all consider making small presents this year -- it's a great way of giving thanks.
