Thanksgiving as a Theology

It's Thanksgiving morning here in the US. For the rest of the world it is just another Thursday. It's pretty much just another Thursday for me, too.

Don't get me wrong. I am thankful for my life and willing to celebrate the holiday, it just has less of an impact than it once had. I think that living with gratitude as a part of my daily life has diminished the significance of a day dedicated to gratitude. 
That and the childhood image of pilgrims celebrating with the natives that we would end up treating so goddamn awful in the coming years doesn't sit so well with me anymore.

Nowadays I find it difficult to ignore the exploitation of the holidays. There seems to be so much money to be made that commercialism has taken over many of our once simple, once sacred special days. Typing that into words makes me feel all bah-humbug and I don't really feel that way. But I do wonder what it would be like if life and holidays were without the stress brought on by our exaggerated expectations.

I'm going to smoke a turkey breast today. I have a couple of ears of corn on the cob, and I'll probably wrap a potato in foil and throw it in the smoker, as well. A couple of little individual pecan pies will complete my simple Thanksgiving meal. 
I truly am thankful for my simple life. I recognize the great privilege that I have and am sometimes a little ashamed of how well I have it.  

Does being thankful for things -- life, family, friends, etc. -- require us to have someone or something to be thankful to?
Are we thankful for our family to our family?
Are we grateful for our friendships to our friends?
I suppose we can be, but for me -- it's more than that.

Maybe you have no God/god. 
Maybe you recognize no force greater than humanity.
Maybe you have no one to be thankful to.

Somehow I believe that gratitude is its own kind of theology.
These simple blessings of my life have to come from somewhere or something or someone.
It may be kind of mystical. Some may call it superstition or fantasy. I really don't understand it, but I do believe that I am created by and guided by a force or being that is far beyond cognitive ability. I no longer see God (my name for this force or being) as an outside force that demands followship, worship, or specific behaviors to gain favor, but as a source of love and energy that flows from within me and all of us. Yeah, I know -- sometimes love is hard to see in people. But I still believe it's in there.

This theology of gratitude is important to me. It really is who I am and who I am becoming. I know how heretical this would sound to my evangelical or conservative Catholic friends. I suppose their God would condemn me to hell and eternal torment for sharing such thoughts. Perhaps they'll offer prayers or acts of contrition on my behalf. 

Whether my simple day is a day of celebration or not, know this -- I am thankful for my life, my family, my friends, and for the few of you that have taken the time to read my posts. 
Whether you are in the US and celebrating Thanksgiving or somewhere else in the world, I truly hope that today is just another day of living a life filled with gratitude.

Happy Thanksgiving!

John