Happy Halloween friends – “The Holidays” are nearly upon us; I was at Costco yesterday and despite the date Christmas is the theme in the blow-up creature aisle. There is a lot I could say but more than anything that I’m really thinking about is gratitude and giving thanks.

Whatever mythology you want to ascribe to our American Thanksgiving I hope we can agree that the roots run to a celebratory harvest festival. Across the world and across faiths we celebrate when the crops have come in for the season, and it is not at all unusual to have something of a bacchanal before sheltering through the long nights of winter. Washington proclaimed a day of ‘prayer and thanksgiving.’ Lincoln made it a national holiday and gave it a day. It feels today like something of a way station between Halloween and Christmas.

Cynically I think part of the problem is that is can be hard to sell Thanksgiving decorations (though I do see plenty of blow up turkeys around), I know there is some conversation about the politics of the holiday, and for many it is the gateway to a season of fraught family dynamics. We are also so far away from the seasons of agriculture that we simply have no concept of celebrating a harvest. You can have watermelon or pumpkin pie or anything you want, anytime you want it, so nothing is really unique in its moment anymore.

I think, though, that Thanksgiving has something to offer, that we have lost in the decorating, shopping, and running around. In his proclamation of the holiday Lincoln wrote: “The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come...They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God…” -excerpted from the Thanksgiving Proclamation

The world is by no means perfect, all is not right in many ways and in many places. I do not pretend to turn away from the real suffering of so many. The words above were written in the midst of the Civil War so whatever you are feeling about the state of things right now they can be a reminder to look at what we do have, look at what we can do, look at where we can show up. These words remind me to just stop and practice gratitude: the act of being gratefully aware of where I find myself, and what enough can look like.

Not everyone can do this, I am not insensitive to that reality, but gratitude properly felt, can become an act of generosity that builds energetically. The key is that you actually have to do it – you don’t just find yourself in gratitude, you have to take the time to notice and acknowledge. It is an intentional orientation and something you have to practice.

So today I want to offer a somewhat silly practice that I have found especially helpful when I am not feeling naturally full of gratitude; this is a practice that can be helpful to use with family, everyone takes a turn, and you don’t have to come up with something grandiose. It is what I call the gratitude alphabet: one thing you are grateful for starting with each letter of the alphabet. It is a great way to make people laugh, to relax tension, and at the same time to bring yourself into a place of true thanks giving. Give it a try, give it away, share what you think.

A: apples, because they are just an awesome fruit, plus they have a start hidden on the inside

B: my son Ben

C. cats, and in particular my two (Clementine is one)

D. dogs, endless love with a side of funky smell

E. my daughter Eva

F. flowers, the color, the life, the promise, all of it

G. game night with the family, even when I mess up in the zombie game

H. my house, it is a gift to have this shelter

I. insects, doing work that I don’t want to do and that is so needed

J. (blackberry) jam from the yard

K. kittens (of course)

L. loving, being loved, feeling this fully

M. my marriage and the ways it has made me grow

N. night, a time of quiet, rest, seeing what can’t be seen in the day

O. octopus, because these miraculous things exist

P. peppers, the color, the flavor, the surprise

Q. quiet and times to paus

R. red, the brightness of that life-filled color

S. snowflakes, the reminder that we are also each unique in the universe

T. toilet paper, really it is great, what an invention!

U. upside down cakes, just so much fun to make and be surprised by

V. velcro, we can invent new and amazing things

W. water, clean water when I open the tap

X. x-rays and what that means in medicine, how much we can do to heal those who are hurting

Y. Yippee – a sound of joy

Z. zebras, I suspect they get a lot of gratitude because it’s a hard letter, but also they are pretty amazing

give it a try – let me know what you think – and if you can’t do all 26 letters, just do what you can, the more you practice, the easier it gets.