Things to be thankful for

I had already celebrated thanksgiving while I was in Canada. A family in Ottawa had graciously invited me and I was an adopted youth at their table. There was turkey, gravy, even pumpkin pie.

But that was Canadian thanksgiving. And this year, for american thanksgiving, I had a different experience.

Sometimes I feel that the very essence of holidays, of days of occasion, are just completely lost within the idea of themselves. They become bloated, plastic, selfish... full of nothing but hot manufactured air and maybe some high fructose corn syrup. What does it mean to celebrate something like thanksgiving? And I don't mean simply the historical day of the settlers taking advantage of the generosity of the native peoples of North America. But literally, a day of giving thanks? What does that mean anymore? Why should we narrow our gratefullness for our lives to just one day? Shouldn't it be extended to all days, to live with awareness and gratitude in our hearts, that we have access to our loved ones, that there is a roof over our heads, that we can, infact, make so much food that we can feed a huuuge house full of people?

And why not make that housefull of people be a house full of strangers and family members alike?

Our hosts:


That was my Thanksgiving experience in Tepotzlan. An open door party. Chicken in mole sauce. Rice, all the tortillas we could want. Food and drink provided by friends of a friend who we only met a few weeks ago. A view of the mountains that would make you believe in god and realize that every step we take has the possibility to end in disaster, and to be grateful that it doesn't.