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This episode of Living Myth begins with an ancient Mayan myth about the first human ancestors being shaped from corn. Far from being random creatures, humans were created to bring missing ingredients to the world. The missing ingredients included: a conscious awareness of the wonder of creation, a sense of gratitude and thankfulness, and a potential for imagination and genuine vision.

Central to the role of humans was the capacity to be thankful for the gift of life.  Thus, people all over the earth have created ceremonies and practices of gratitude and thanksgiving. Yet, in this year, when so many things have gone upside down, the idea of gathering people for a Thanksgiving event can turn out to be a kind of reverse ceremony. In the upside-down world, coming together to feel a sense of connection and thankfulness can wind up having unintended consequences.

The idea of giving thanks and the word thankfulness come from the old root word, grazia, which gives us gratitude, as well as grace. In that sense, what we seek in giving thanks are moments of gratitude that can bring a sense of grace back into the world. And this can happen in small ways that do not require large gatherings, an abundance of food, or any pretension that everyone might agree on life's great issues.

More than ever, we need occasions of grace and gratitude, however small they may be. We need moments of wholeness to rekindle our spirits and to ease our souls. We need to feel that life, despite all the existing divisions and heated conflicts remains a holy place, a place where healing remains possible.

When the world keeps turning upside down, it can be time to look and feel deeper inside in order to find the people and aspects of life that we are most grateful for. Sometimes that's all we need to do in order to reconnect to and contribute to the holiness of life. In doing that, we can ease the burden of our own hearts; we can also connect to the original sense of humanity and enable more grace to enter the world.

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