The Thanksgiving holiday beautifully fosters our sense of gratitude and connection with family and community. Its origin reminds us of the generosity and solidarity or the native populations of the Americas, as well as the gratitude of the European recipients of such generosity. It also reminds us that we still live deeply wounded by the effects of colonization: We remember the genocide and slavery that directly followed the colonization of the Americas, and whose effects are still deeply entrenched in us.
The present-day Thanksgiving tradition in itself shows us of the light and dark sides of this holiday: On the one hand, gathering around the table to feast in community is a long-honored celebration of abundance, gratitude, and connection in many cultures around the world. On the other, the present-day context of this celebration is a somber reminder of American over-consumption: from the heavy climate impact of additional holiday air travel, to over-stuffing ourselves at the dinner table, and culminating in the quasi-cartoonish consumerist "tradition" of Black Friday sales. How can we simultaneously hold the beauty and the wounds of this beloved American holiday?
In an attempt to answer this question, we invite you to join in an alternative tradition to celebrate the beauty of gratitude, connection, and abundance while honoring, grieving, and transmuting the colonization wounds we all carry within. This Thanksgiving, we will joyfully embark on a nurturing Gratitude Fast.
A time to honor and give gratitude to our indigenous populations in the Americas and around the world, for the wisdom they carry and that we enthusiastically welcome
A time to remember and acknowledge the genocide, slavery, and systemic oppression that colonization brought and continues to bring to our world
A time to reconnect with our bodies, community, and Pacha Mama (Mother Earth)
A time to reignite our gratitude for our already existing day-to-day abundance by living a short period of mindful and intentional abstinence
A time to share in our abundance with populations who have been most affected by colonization through a voluntary donation
A time to create more division or hatred against traditional Thanksgiving celebrators, the "white man", or any other group of fellow humans
A time to fast for purposes that continue entrenching the values of colonization (e.g., fasting to be thinner, to be more productive, to get social media influence and attention)
A time to feed our ego; we approach this fast with humility and reverence, and acknowledge that there are many beautiful ways to celebrate life and gratitude