A Space in Time

The holiday of Thanksgiving, like Shabbat, was created and placed into our calendars as an opportunity to lay back and take time to reflect on the people and event in our lives. It is an opening, a space in time, to revel what we might not have been able to do at the time of the event or the encounter. I look at this space in time as a gift, as an opportunity to offer gratitude to God and the people around us.

Our tradition teaches us to say 100 blessings a day, from the first moment of consciousness, to the last breath we take upon this earth. I acknowledge that at times it is hard to be in the state of constant gratitude, however, it is such a joy to try.

I looked up on the web people’s statements on this topic; here is some of what I found:

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”  Marcel Proust

“Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.”  Thích Nhất Hạnh

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”  Epicurus 

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson 

“Sometimes life knocks you on you down, get up, get up, get up!!! Happiness is not the absence of problems; it's the ability to deal with them.”  Steve Maraboli


“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”  Eckhart Tolle

“If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.”  Meister Eckhart

“We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.”                    John F. Kennedy

“You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.”  Kahlil Gibran

“Faith is the bird that sings to the dawn while it is still dark.”  Kabir

May your Thanksgiving celebration be filled with thankfulness. Amen.