Thanksgiving, Advent, and The practice of paying attention
This is a special time. It is Thanksgiving Day. It is It is the beginning of Advent. I am so thankful for insight and awareness, time to linger, and words that stir and swell my soul. I feel like those three things crack my shell of autopilot around these holiday days and fill them instead with meaning and fullness . Advent countdown the "auto pilot" way is summed up in counting down the days until presents and family and food...counting down how many days left to buy and wrap and prepare....counting down the little chocolates you extract day by day in the advent calendar for kids. It has taken a massive slow-down and perspective shift to feel Advent in my bones. And it starts with Thanksgiving. It has been part of the difference-maker for me to see Thanksgiving as the preceding miracle to Advent. See Thanksgiving as a gift of time to pay attention. To notice, remember, claim what is Grace all around us. And that opens up for me the passage into