Thanks-Giving Thanks-Receiving

Dear Divas,

“Things haven’t been this bad since the Great Depression.” I stopped in my tracks, taken aback. There they were, my son and his friend, two 8-year-old Tom Joads, playing in the game room, talking about the Great Depression, sensing scarcity and forlorn. Where did they hear this? How is this possible?

Then I realized it is everywhere, this sense of scarcity that has engulfed us.

No doubt this has been a heavy year of upheaval and uncertainty. So many are feeling vulnerable. We fear loss; we lament what more might slip through our fingers.

What’s next?

What’s next is this week’s holiday of Thanks. Thanks-giving, indeed. And I would add, Thanks-receiving.

I am in no way trying to dismiss the fact that the market and the economy and the job market have us discombobulated and confused. There are many many people hurting in ways that’s filtered down, no matter how abstractly, into an 8-year-old’s vocabulary and sense of well-being. For good reasons we experience vacancy, a bit of despair, and a distancing from the at-home-ness of everyday living.

I ask that you pause and embrace this moment as an opportunity, an opening, an odd blessing.

While I certainly cannot predict what the future will bring, I can predict with great certainty that come this Thursday: you will have the chance to be immersed in rich relationships and deep meaning…And that the sense of vulnerability—clearly and magically—reveals the comfort and grounding in the richness we already possess.

Here is my Thankgiving hope:

What I hope you and I can do this year—if only for this day—is not live from a point of scarcity, of fear.

Let’s live beyond feeling there is a lack, an absence.

Let’s live in the beauty of company—family, friends, neighbors, strangers—sitting around a table breaking bread, sharing something to drink, talking and laughing and being with one another

My comfort is in knowing that we will both try. Can you commit to this, for this day, at least?

I will not be fearful.

I will not feel limited by what I don’t have.

I will not lament over what I believe I once had.

I will not chase the insanity of “only if.”

I want us to live in what we have. We have so much

I hope we can live this Thursday in thanks, in presence. I hope we give of ourselves in ways that let us be seen by those we love.

I hope we can live this Thursday receiving, in openness. I hope we accept warmth from those whom we love in ways that let them be seen.

Let’s do this together, regardless of whether you’re here in the States celebrating the holiday or in Europe, Asia, or South Africa. Let’s relish the opportunity to live in bounty.

Let’s feast in the stunning magnificence of the moment. No matter what I don’t have, I have this moment, these friends, my family, and this opportunity to give and receive.

Dear friend, I am going to rely on this mantra to keep me on track: Thanks-giving, Thanks-receiving

Thanks that I have passion to give. Thanks for the passion from you, which I can receive.

Thanks for this day—giving and receiving. These few hours when the world is astoundingly astonishing.

Give thanks and receive thanks.

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In richness and joy and love.

Leanne

Our 2007 Thanksgiving message

©2008 Divanation, LLC. All rights reserved

Speaking Truth to Power

Dear Divas,

We reach out to you, as always, in passion and in peace.

Today, the Tankman and Bobby Kennedy got us going (see bold below)...and got us thinking about what it means to stand true to one's convictions, true to beliefs, true to actions. What does it mean to live a passionate life and to be part of a something larger than each of us?

So very many of you have told us how you are moved by Speaking Truth to Power.
How truth alters power.
How truth inflames passions.
How truth, in spite of its consequences, set you free in ways that serve, support, and sustain your worlds.

We hope the following stirs your thoughts and energies, as it has ours.

We are interested in your insights, your remembrances, your thoughts, your feelings....
What are some of your speaking truth to power aspirations or experiences?

Please post a response.

With much warmth,

Leanne and Frank

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Nineteen years ago, June 5, 1989, the world witnessed a spectacular, unforgettable, and universal act of courage and valor: "An unarmed young man carrying shopping bags suddenly steps out in front of the column of tanks as they slowly moved toward Tiananmen Square. Instead of running over him, the first tank tries to go around, but the young man steps in front of it again. They repeat this maneuver several more times before the tank stops and turns off its motor. The young man climbs on top of the tank and speaks to the driver before jumping back down again." To this day, the identity of this person remains unknown.

See the links below for more information or to view a video of the "Tank Man."

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/cron/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrQqDqOx3KY

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June 6, 2008 is the fortieth anniversary of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.
Bobby Kennedy's energy, enthusiasm, and passion helped move a generation and change a country. He challenged the complacent in American society and sought to bridge the great divides in American life—between the races, between the poor and the affluent, between young and old, between order and dissent.

We were touched by this refection (link below) by Kerry Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy's daughter. We believe you will also find it of interest.

Kerry Kennedy's piece provides an engaged and passionate woman's perspective on the influence of her father. Ms. Kennedy's observations about fairness, equity, love, and responsibility speak to the immediacy of engagement.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/opinion/05kerrykennedy.html

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