- Give Thanks — Before your meal, connect the deeper meaning of what it means to have food on your plate, fuel for your body, and give thanks.
- Support Native Americans – Anchor the day as a reminder to support Native Americans (this lands first people). Do some gift shopping from native-owned businesses (art, jewelry, furniture, or clothing perhaps), purchase a book authored by a Native American, or donate to a Native American fund. Here are three: Adopt a Native Elder Program, Native American Rights Fund, The American Indian College Fund.
- Story Share around the Table: Sharing family history and accounts of past events and lives of family elders (those that have passed on) honors your history and carries it forward. If you live alone, then take some time during the day to write down or make a voice recording of some family history to carry on this age-old tradition.
- Outdoor Time — Schedule some time to get outdoor, regardless of the weather. Be it only 5-minutes alone or a long walk with your nucleus family mid-day. You can’t get outdoor, sit by a window, and direct your eyes on a tree. Spend some time just being present in that space.
- Manifest Moment – take a moment, again alone or together, to manifest/envision you a year from now – who are you at your more fantastic version of yourself? Embrace living into that version.
- Give Back – Think of a small way you can give back to your community. Maybe it is reaching out with a call to a neighbor who could use some help or lives alone. Leave a small gift – perhaps some fruit or an indoor plant on the doorstep. Send someone a “thinking of you” card. Help someone with a task they cannot do on their own. Or donate to a local food bank or shelter.
Thanksgiving day, a day that celebrates the harvest. Over the years, its original intent has become commercialized, and we’ve seemed to have bypassed the significants of its profound and incongruent symbolism. None the less, many beautiful traditions have come about celebrating this day. Your family may have a wide variety of practices already in place. There is always room for more to honor yourself, your history, this land’s indigenous people, and community.
Wishing you a Happy & Healthy Thanksgiving
