Friday, November 28, 2008

A Synchronicitous Thanksgiving Conversation

Last night was the opening of a friend's first photography exhibition (Robyn Cross: Breathe). I went with my friend Glen, who was driving. We are not Americans, hence we don't celebrate Thanksgiving, but I thought it would be nice to celebrate anyway by giving thanks for things as we drove into town.

I said to Glen: "How about if we gave thanks - like a conversation? You say something you're thankful for, then I say something I'm thankful for and we go like that until we get into town." (i.e. about a 20 - 30 minute drive).

So we did that.

Glen began by saying: "I'm really thankful for having you as a friend."

I followed by saying: "I'm thankful for having you as a friend also."

We continued, listing different things, situations and people (ourselves included) that we were thankful for in our lives. Sometimes we would just say the thing, situation or person. Sometimes we would add an explanation or give a little story to flesh out why we were thankful.

Sometimes we can have long conversations with people and at the end wonder what we spoke about and why (i.e. empty chatter to fill space and time). But the Thank You conversation felt meaningful and intimate. As friends we were learning new things about each other and our selves through what we were thankful for and why.

At one point there was a lapse in our Thank You stream. Everything fell silent but the radio in Glen's jeep. In that space, the Universe joined our conversation as the synchronicitous words of the song on the radio wafted to our ears ... Alanis Morisette's Thank U!


THANK YOU
How about getting off of these antibiotics
How about stopping eating when I'm filled up
How about them transparent dangling carrots
How about that ever elusive kudo

Thank you India
Thank you terror
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you frailty
Thank you consequence
Thank you thank you silence

How about me not blaming you for everything
How about me enjoying the moment for once
How about how good it feels to finally forgive you
How about grieving it all one at a time

Thank you India
Thank you terror
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you frailty
Thank you consequence
Thank you thank you silence

The moment I let go of it was
The moment I got more than I could handle
The moment I jumped off of it was
The moment I touched down

How about no longer being masochistic
How about remembering your divinity
How about unabashedly bawling your eyes out
How about not equating death with stopping

Thank you India
Thank you providence
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you nothingness
Thank you clarity
Thank you thank you silence

yeah yeah
ahh ohhh
ahhh ho oh
ahhh ho ohhhhhh
yeaahhhh yeahh

5 comments:

meadysmusings said...

You know I always wonder how come when you say a word if you have the TV on the people say the same word right after...some say it is coincidence especially like if it is a common word just random chance that the words happened to match up as they occur all over in conversations...sentences. But I've always wondered...and how come people dont wonder more bout it...I remember asking my bro once and he felt so too...but think he more thought it fell into the random chance explanantion...Interesting you put up the lyrics for the song though...I think it would make a good addition to a post on the chain of thought I am following on my Universal Collective Prayer blog re:the mumbai terror attacks...cause perhaps coincindental again...but now recalling from reading it that Alanis thanks India on it so...

Elspeth said...

I thought of the same thing (Mumbia) when Alanis mentioned India.

Lynn Cohen said...

I take time each day I wake up to say thanks and remember all I have to be grateful for. The news from India has dropped my pre/post Thankggiving mood down down down...
I remember being happy on Wednesday, I remember being excited with expectation on Thursday morning, I remember being over joyed to be with my family on Thursday late morning to evening...and then CRASH...all that goodness was still goodness but the mood is dark now with news pouring in all day long.

I like your car conversation...I didn't need the terrorist attacks to remind me all I am grateful for, so I do not thank them for anything. Poor India, poor injured people, poor murdered people...it all makes me very very sad.

:-(

Andreamuse said...

I'm thankful for your blog!

I made a list of things I'm thankful for recently and I am really so lucky!

Elspeth said...

I'm thankful for your comment, especially as we haven't been in touch for ages.